Armenian government proposes new tax for online casino gambling

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has revived a bill that would add a 10 per cent turnover tax for online casino gaming.

Armenia.- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has revived a proposal to introduce an additional 10 per cent turnover tax on online casino gaming revenue. That’s in addition to existing taxes and state duties. The change, which would not apply to bookmakers, would come into force on April 1.

The bill was authored by Hayk Sargsyan, an MP in the pro-government Civil Contract faction. At a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Issues, he said the bill would now move forward despite a previous decision to postpone it. Sargsyan proposed including the bill on the agenda for the next National Assembly session under a special procedure so that it can be considered for first and second readings within 24 hours. Deputies have approved the proposal.

Sargsyan argued that turnover in the online casino sector had increased from 14bn drams in 2010 to 6.3 trillion drams (around €15.3bn) in 2023. Meanwhile, taxes and duties paid by the sector had grown from 1bn drams to just 33bn.

Last year, the Armenian parliament approved amendments to gambling legislation that changed the tax on customer winnings. Under the amended legislation, the tax on gambling winnings for large wins and regular wins varies.

The former, which are defined as any win of more than 5 million Armenian drams (€11,000), are subject to income tax of 5 per cent rather than the previous 10 per cent. Regular wins of any net win amount (winnings minus the bet placed) of under 5 million drams are now taxed at 10 per cent. The aim was to simplify the taxation process for smaller wins.