Ireland did not include the EU-wide tax on online gambling in the EU budget draft 🔹Ireland, which holds the Council of...

Ireland did not include the EU-wide tax on online gambling in the EU budget draft

🔹Ireland, which holds the Council of the EU presidency, did not include a tax on online gambling in the European Union budget draft for the 2028–2034 years. Previously, the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament proposed introducing a levy of 1% on the revenues or turnover of gambling operators in addition to national taxes. According to the initiative’s authors’ estimates, this could raise €2–4 billion for the budget each year.

🔹The proceeds were proposed to be directed to education, youth support, mental health care, and prevention of gambling addiction. The initiative was opposed by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) and the authorities of Malta, where many international gambling companies are registered. The Maltese side insists that gambling taxation should remain within the competence of individual states.

🔹Instead, in the earlier budget draft Ireland proposed five other revenue sources, including contributions from large companies with annual turnover above €100 million, levies on tobacco products, fees for electronics not sent for recycling, as well as revenues from emissions trading and imports of goods with a high carbon footprint. The document is not final.

🔹Adoption of the budget requires the agreement of all 27 EU countries and the European Parliament, so the issue of a tax on online gambling may be raised again during further negotiations.

@sho_azartny