Spain Cuts Online Gaming Taxes

Spanish legislators have moved to reduce tax rates for online gambling operators by 5 percent. The cut reduces the tax on gross gaming revenue from 25 percent to 20 percent. Officials hope the cut will provide another boost to Spain’s growing online gambling industry.

Spain’s legislature has cut online gaming taxes from 25 percent to 20 percent on gross gaming revenue.

The cut was one of several for online gambling operators, according to Spanish budget documents.

The cuts are designed to further boost for Spain’s online gambling sector as it continues to experience steady growth. Spain’s gambling regulator, the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego recently reported a 27 percent yearly increase in online gambling revenue for the first quarter of 2018.

Santiago Asensi, managing partner of Spanish gaming law firm Asensi Abogados, recently told iGamingBusiness.com that the new tax regulations could actually result in more taxes being collected by Spain.

“Operators will be able to make better offers to the players who will not go to illegal markets,” he said. “The latest figures from the DGOJ show that all areas of online gambling are expanding, particularly with sports betting and online casino games, so I believe that these new measures will also lead to more tax being collected.”

The 5 percent cut will apply to online fixed-odds betting and sports betting, fixed-odds horse racing, betting exchanges and online casino games, bingo and poker.