Every reputable gaming facility should be officially registered and certified. To get a license, there’re certain requirements, which are to be met. One of them is to pay for it. Depending on the type of operating permission, gaming clubs are to pay once and regularly to prolong their certifications. Along with license fees, every official gaming facility should pay taxes. Many economies greatly benefit from such payments. Today, we are going to speak about casino taxes and the territories, where gambling houses are to pay the largest amounts.
Types of Taxes
Depending on the type and peculiarities of a certain gaming venue, there might be various taxes to be paid:
| Variety of taxes | Description |
| Property | If we speak about land-based gaming venues, they need to have a property to organize their business. As a result, there’re certain taxes they are to pay. The amount might depend on the country, location, and many other aspects connected with the construction of the building and peculiarities of business. |
| Sales | Every land-based gaming venue has to purchase various goods for potential customers (punters). They then sell them to their guests or use them in one or the other way for their business and earn extra money. For all goods purchased, gaming facilities might be asked to pay taxes. |
| Payroll | Every gaming club has employees, such as waiters, dealers, security guards, etc. The owner of the casino pays salaries to them. In certain cases, it might be necessary to pay taxes on what a casino pays its staff. |
| Income | This type of tax is obligatory for various types of gaming venues (including Internet platforms). It’s applied in almost every country with a regulated gambling market. Casinos obtain certain profits from punters’ bets and losses. And they are to pay taxes on their income. The rate depends on certain country. |
| Gaming | It’s an additional group of taxes, which presupposes paying taxes on a percentage of the adjusted gross revenue of the gaming facility or the total profit of a gambling house before other business expenses. The average rate is about 20%. |
| Admission |
It’s an additional type of tax, which is used in a few countries. It presupposes that every visitor of a gaming venue is to pay a fixed amount of money to enter. Such a policy is used, for instance, in Singapore. The authorities try to decrease the number of gamblers in the country due to the growing number of compulsive gamblers. There’re just 2 official gaming clubs in the territory. Every visitor is to pay about 80 USD at the entry. |
In the majority of countries, only gaming venues and bookmakers are to pay certain taxes, while there’re no fees on punters’ winnings. However, there’re also exceptions. There’re countries, which make people pay taxes on their winnings in case they use gambling as the main source of income. Keep that in mind if you’d decide to visit a gaming facility or play online casino craps real money.
It’s a popular practice when a gambling club is to pay extra fees for every winning it records. For example, in Ireland, the bookmakers are to pay a 1% tax on all bets made through their service.
Jurisdictions with the Greatest Taxes
In many territories, various gambling facilities are heavily taxed. It brings lots of money to the state budget and helps support the economy. Consider the list of countries with the highest tariffs:
1.France. This country has recently changed its policy. Gaming venues used to pay taxes on the overall turnover. Today, they’re to pay taxes on the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR). The rate depends on the form of gambling:
- Horseracing – about 38%
- Sports betting – about 45%
- Internet bookmakers – 52%
- Internet poker rooms – 40%
- Brick-and-mortar gaming venues – over 83%.
2. Germany. It’s another country with the highest tax rates for gaming venues. Depending on the variety of gambling business, the owners are to pay taxes on either turnover or GGR. Consider the examples of rates:
- Sports betting – 5% tax on a turnover
- The iGaming area – 16% on GGR
- Brick-and-mortar gaming venues – from 20% to 80% on GGR.
3.Denmark. The rates greatly depend on the income of a gaming facility. For instance, if the profit is less than 612,000 USD, the rate will be much lower. The tariffs also depend on the type of gambling business:
- Sports betting – 20%
- Internet platforms – 20% on GGR
- Lotteries – from 15% to 17.5% (if the winnings are over 30 USD)
- Brick-and-mortar gaming venues – from 45% to 75%.
4.Australia. It’s one of the most gambling countries in the world. Here, the gambling business is mostly regulated by local authorities, which is why the tariff greatly depends on the definite state or province. The largest percentage to pay might reach 65%. Such a big rate is usually applied to lotteries. As for slots or table games, the rates are 25% and 20% correspondingly.
5.The UK. It’s one of the most strictly regulated gambling markets. The amount a gaming business is to pay greatly depends on the gross gaming revenue. Thus, it might be from 15% to 50%. The taxation system is divided into tiers:
- 15%
- 20%
- 30%
- 40%
- 50%.
6.Macau. It’s a popular casino destination, so it’s important to say about the tax rates in the territory. Land-based gambling businesses have to pay:
- 35% on their GGR
- Almost 2% for Macau Foundation
- Almost 2.5% tax for Infrastructure, Tourism, and Social Security.
As for other countries with regulated gambling, the tariff is usually about 35% or lower. Among them, we can mention Greece, Check Republic, Portugal, the Netherlands, and many others.
Conclusion
Any gambling business that wants to be legal should pay all the required taxes on the revenue, GGR, and even punters’ winnings sometimes. For gamblers, it’s important to choose only reliable gaming venues, which are officially licensed and meet the requirements of their jurisdiction.