Decree imposes new consumption tax on gambling in Colombia
The new tax is intended to raise funds to aid flood victims.
Colombia.- President Gustavo Petro has signed a series of decrees to create new taxes amid a national economic and environmental emergency in Colombia. The objective is to speed up the collection of resources to help the victims of floods in Córdoba, Antioquia, La Guajira, Sucre, Bolívar, Cesar, Magdalena and Chocó.
One of the decrees signed by President Gustavo Petro incorporates a 16 per cent consumption tax on bets placed on digital platforms. The tax is included alongside measures such as interest-free loans, relief for bank debtors and special powers for mayors and governors.
The government justified the measure by stating that the 2026 National General Budget is insufficient after Congress reduced it by COP 10tn (€2.36bn) and rejected financing laws that sought to raise COP 16.3tn.
The new National Consumption Tax on online gambling applies to bets placed both from Colombia and abroad, and the taxable base will be the money deposited (cash, transfers, or cryptocurrencies) by the user to place bets. It will be calculated on gross revenue (GGR), defined as “the total amount of bets less the prizes paid out in the corresponding two-month period.”
The Constitutional Court previously suspended similar moves in Decrees 1390 and 1474 of 2025. However, the Executive branch maintains that “the adoption of tax measures in a previous emergency does not prevent the national government from using them again in a subsequent exceptional situation to address a different crisis.”
The government argues that this sector has a “high capacity to contribute and sustained growth,” and that its lack of taxation created a distortion compared to land-based gambling.
It said the funds raised will be allocated “exclusively to cover the General Budget expenses necessary to address the causes of the State of Emergency.”
