Colombia’s government introduced 19% value-added tax (VAT) on deposits that are mede to online gambling accounts as part of a broader tax reform bill submitted to Congress. The measure is still being considered.
By Article 41 of the Economic Rescue Law gambling operators would become responsible for paying VAT on qualifying online deposits. It works both for operators based in and outside of Colombia, if the players are connected from the country.
The proposal applies to money and crypto-assets transferred to online gambling accounts to obtain the right to place bets. It sets the VAT rate at 19%, with the taxable base calculated by dividing the deposit amount by 1.19.
According to the tax reform plans, there will be a rise in the set front-taxable amounts in various land gambling operations.
As per the suggestion, the charge value for a casino slot machine would move up from 20 to 40 tax units, whereas the fee for a playing table would increase from 290 to 580 units. Per head fee for bingo would increase from three to six units. For slot machines in the places where gambling is not an essential type of business, the fee would go up from 10 to 20 units.
The proposal says that the tax rate should be increased for some lottery, raffle, and bets from 20% to 30%. Moreover, DIAN has the right to block the websites in some cases when the technical monitoring is ignored.
The Ministry of Finance claims that VAT with respect to online gambling will bring around €560.22m in 2027. The estimates show that in the period from 2028 to 2030, average annual returns from gambling would be about €633.05. All these amounts depend upon the Facts of approval and taking the proposal into utilization.
The government states that the expected improvements are going to narrow the gap in taxation between online gambling and land gambling.
The proposal will now face legislative debate before any of its provisions can take effect.
