{"id":22,"date":"2026-07-24T12:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T12:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bbet365.xyz\/?p=22"},"modified":"2026-07-24T12:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T12:02:09","slug":"colombia-government-makes-another-attempt-to-implement-online-gambling-vat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bbet365.xyz\/?p=22","title":{"rendered":"Colombia government makes another attempt to implement online gambling VAT"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The outgoing government of Colombia\u2019s President Gustavo Petro has made further attempts to make the long-debated 19% value-added tax (VAT) on gambling permanent.<\/p>\n

Following the May\/June general election, Petro will be replaced by Abelardo de la Espriella as Colombia\u2019s president, with the inauguration set for 7 August.<\/p>\n

However, on Monday, prior to the end of his four-year tenure, Petro\u2019s government submitted a new tax reform bill<\/a> to Colombia\u2019s Congress, including a permanent 19% VAT for online gambling operators.<\/p>\n

The government estimated the online gambling sector could generate tax revenue of approximately COP1.7 trillion ($530.8 million) in 2027, provided the VAT is pushed through.<\/p>\n

Colombia tax pressure continues to rumble on<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 19% VAT was first introduced<\/a> on an emergency basis in February 2025, with the government claiming it needed additional funds to combat civil disturbances in the Catatumbo region.<\/p>\n

The government tried to make the VAT permanent in December last year, although its Financing Law was rejected<\/a> by the Senate\u2019s Fourth Committee.<\/p>\n

The VAT was shifted from being levied on deposits to being based on GGR, but the Constitutional Court then suspended<\/a> it the following month.<\/p>\n

However, a fresh emergency decree in March established a 16% consumption tax<\/a> on online gambling deposits as the government responded to severe flooding in eight of Colombia\u2019s provinces.<\/p>\n

Considering the Petro government\u2019s struggles trying to get bills through Congress, this new attempt to make the 19% VAT permanent could face plenty of opposition.<\/p>\n

According to law firm Baker McKenzie<\/a>, the permanent 19% VAT would revert to being on deposits, likely adding fuel to the industry\u2019s fire.<\/p>\n

How will this affect the Colombian gambling sector?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Notably, the Colombian government claimed the 19% VAT generated the revenue expected while having little impact on the sector\u2019s sustainability.<\/p>\n

According to the bill there is \u201cno evidence of significant deterioration in the sector that would justify terminating or scaling back the measure\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, this contradicts statements from April 2025 by the Colombian Federation of Gambling Entrepreneurs, which claimed that in the two months following the first introduction of the VAT, online GGR had plummeted 30%<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In response to the VAT, a number of key operators credited players with bonuses<\/a> to offset the new tax.<\/p>\n

The Colombian government has also stated the permanent implementation of VAT on online gambling \u201celiminates a market distortion\u201d, with land-based casinos already facing a 19% VAT.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout this proposal, starting 1 January\u00a02027, these digital services would receive preferential treatment compared to physical gambling establishments subject to this tax,\u201d the bill said.<\/p>\n

\u201cApplying the general VAT rate to online platforms reduces the differential treatment afforded to the consumption of goods and services \u2013 treatment that, in many cases, lacks justification based on the principles of progressivity, horizontal equity, efficiency and simplicity that the tax system is constitutionally required to uphold.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The outgoing government of Colombia\u2019s President Gustavo Petro has made further attempts to make the long-debated 19% value-added tax (VAT) on gambling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbet365.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbet365.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbet365.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbet365.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbet365.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bbet365.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbet365.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbet365.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbet365.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}