Gambling taxes differ from country to country. There are basically two types of them: taxes that gamblers should pay and duties which have to be paid by gambling operators. Taxes derived from gambling are usually collected to be spent on some social projects such as education or healthcare. It, therefore, seems to be quite fair from the governmental point of view that casino operators who often have to generate huge revenues have to share their money with the government. In the same time, if you hit a jackpot or win a lottery, you certainly will not be willing to give away a part of your money to the tax man. Canada and the UK are the two countries which have exceptionally favorable tax policies in regards to both gamblers and gambling operators and deserve closer scrutiny.

Gambling Taxes In The UK

The UK is one of the best places on the globe for both land based and online gamblers. The last time one had to pay a gambling duty in this country was before 2001. Since then all the winnings that local punters make in casinos or betting shops are not taxed. What is even more worth noting is the fact that you do not have to pay taxes even if you are a professional gambler. In other words, even poker players who make their living out of card games are not subject to taxes in Great Britain. If you are a professional gambler you will have to pay taxes in the UK only in case you are making money by advertising some new poker room. At the same time, there still is a difference between the amount of taxes that land based and online casino operators have to pay. Terrestrial gambling houses are subject to 25% tax in the UK whereas online casino providers until recent times have to pay only 15% of their revenues to the budget. In 2018 amendments were introduced to gambling taxation which makes it obligatory for online casino operators to pay a 21% tax. The later changes in taxes are explained by the fact that the British government wants to compensate for the future losses in treasury revenues which will be caused by decreased revenues from fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs). Starting from October 2019 the maximum bet that one will be able to make at casino games that are available at an FOBT will be £2 instead of £100, as it is now. Consequently, until 2024 it is anticipated that there will be a £1.15bn loss in taxes. By increasing the gambling tax for online operators local government is going to raise additional £1.25bn.

Canadian Gambling Taxes

If you happen to be a regular visitor of any Canada online casino you do not have to pay any taxes from the money that you have won in a casino or on sports betting. However, there is one difference with the UK. In Canada, professional gambrels whose aim is to make some regular income from the games of chance are obliged to pay taxes to the budget. As result, in accordance with Canadian laws professional gambling which presupposes that you have developed some special skills is considered to be a kind of freelancing business. But this clause turns out to be quite difficult to implement as it is not that easy for taxmen to prove that you are the kind of person that makes a regular income from gamblers. There was even the case when court was reluctant to resolve the dispute in favor of the Minister who was trying to impose taxes on gamblers suggesting that gambling was an income from a business. At the same time, you do have to pay taxes from the interests that you get after putting to the bank the money that you have won with gambling. When it comes to taxes that casino operators have to pay in Canada it must be said that there is no special taxation regime for the companies that provide casino services. As a result, gambling provides pay the same amount of taxes from their revenues as other private companies in Canada. In this situation, the only thing that the Canadian Gaming Association regrets about is that online sports betting is not yet legal in this country. As a result, tax losses in billions of dollars occur annually as Chadians bet tons of money at offshore sport wagering websites.