- Gambling Tax Around The World Chart
- Gambling Tax Around The World 2019
- Gambling Tax Around The World Per
- Gambling Tax Around The World 2020
Whenever anyone makes money, the government is going to levy a tax, and gambling is no exception. Gambling tax is handled differently around the world. Some countries offer more favourable terms for the players whereas others offer better terms for the operators. Some countries even offer beneficial terms for both.
The UK gambling tax
The gambling tax in the UK is a prime example of a tax which favours the players. Whenever you gamble in the UK, you don’t have to pay the government a penny.
But this wasn’t always the case. Players used to have a tax levied on either their winnings or on their initial stake. This all changed in 2002 when the tax on players was completely removed to ensure the UK remained competitive.
Hundreds of countries around the world have legalized gambling (Must Watch), and some are on the verge of doing so. There is no standard law which governs the taxes waged on the casinos, common for all. They are handled differently not only in different countries but also differ among sates of the same country.
2019 World Series of Poker – Main Event: Final Table Tax-Bill The 2019 WSOP Main event final table payouts combined to total $30,825,000. The nine lucky players who cashed on the final table of the 2019 main-event can expect to pay a combined tax bill of $11,972,653 – or around 40% of the total prizepool. The list focuses on the main indicative types of taxes: corporate tax, individual income tax, and sales tax, including VAT and GST, but does not list capital gains tax. Some other taxes (for instance property tax, substantial in many countries, such as the United States) and payroll tax are not shown here. In 2017, Kenya raised its gambling taxes on casinos, gambling firms, and lotteries to 35 percent tax representing a huge leap from the previous held rate of 12 percent. On the plus side, the figure was still not as steep as the once-rumored 50 percent rate that was being considered.
Around this time, online gambling was on the rise, and the UK government feared the UK gambling industry would suffer thanks to outside competition. Nowadays, the UK gambling industry it as strong as ever, so it seems like the changes in the tax system were a good move.
The UK gambling laws are so favourable to players that you don’t even need to report your earnings to the government even if you are a professional gambler. So if you are lucky enough to make a living from playing Blackjack or Poker, you don’t need to pay any tax to the government from your profession.
Other countries with tax-free gambling
The UK isn’t the only country that has such a favourable taxation system for players. Whenever you gamble in the following countries, you don’t need to pay anything in taxes, on either your winnings or your initial stake:
- Canada
- Germany
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Australia
- Denmark
- Italy
- Sweden
- Malta
Whenever you gamble in the following countries, you don’t need to worry about declaring your winnings. If you are lucky enough to win, you get to keep the whole amount!
So who gets taxed?
The gambling industry is huge, so naturally, the government wants to get a slice of the action. In the above countries, the government taxes the operators rather than the players.
In some cases, these taxes can be quite high. In the UK, for example, operators have to pay a 15% tax on their profits. On the other hand, other countries, such as Malta, have an extremely low tax on the operators. This is done in order to encourage casino operators to open up for business in Malta.
Gambling Tax Around The World Chart
What are tax havens?
With certain countries taxing casino operators at such high rates, it’s no wonder they have tried to find ways to circumvent it. One popular method of paying less tax is to operate out of a “tax haven” country.
This is a big reason that you see certain locations popping up so often in the online gambling world. For example, many operators have their headquarters based in Malta or Gibraltar.
Tax haven crackdown
Naturally, governments don’t take kindly to businesses circumventing their tax rates, so it’s not a surprise many countries have implemented measures to stop tax havens. The UK, for instance, has implemented a Point of Consumption Tax. This tax means a company is subject to the tax rate according to where the player is accessing the online casino from. This means if you have a UK-based player, you need to pay the UK tax rate.
Countries that tax players
Gambling Tax Around The World 2019
In many other countries around the world, a tax is levied on players. Generally, this makes things a lot more complicated. Sometimes, certain kinds of gambling are subject to a higher rate than others.
In the USA, for instance, you may need to fill out forms to declare your gambling winnings to the government. Of course, this kind of system is a bit less friendly towards the players, but it does have a silver lining. In the USA, you can also report on your gambling losses, which may entitle you to certain tax breaks.
Do your research
Gambling Tax Around The World Per
Residents of countries that don’t tax players at all (such as the UK) often get caught off guard when they go abroad and visit a casino. If you are planning on visiting a foreign country and spending some time gaming, make sure you do some research about the local gambling laws. If you don’t do your research, you could inadvertently find yourself in violation of the law.
Gambling Tax Around The World 2020
Otherwise, stick to playing on online casinos in the UK to avoid such troubles. CasinoGuide has all the information you need to pick the right casino for you.