The European Commission has predicted a new EU-wide online gambling tax could generate an additional €13.3bn in revenue over seven years.
According to a report from POLITICO, which said it had seen a copy of the bloc’s forecast, the mooted levy could bring in €1.9bn per year for the EU coffers.
The Commission estimates a tax of 3% on the net turnover of online gambling companies could result in a significant boost to the EU.
Member states apply their own gambling regulations and tax rates to operators, with measures and levies varying significantly.
The plans come as the EU searches for new “own-resource” revenue streams to fund its 2028-2034 budget, which amounts to €2trn, and repay Covid-era debt.
As of January 2026, government debt to GDP ratio in the EU was 82.1%. Total debt across the EU currently sits at €15.2trn.
The tax proposals require unanimous approval from the EU’s 27 member states. However, POLITICO also reported nine EU member states including Germany and France are ramping up efforts to scale back the size of the budget.
The nine members, which also include the Netherlands and Belgium, are net contributors to the EU, meaning they pay more into the bloc than they get out of it.
A collection of 16 other states, including Italy and Spain, are pushing back against the pressure.
In April, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) warned an EU gambling levy would be “fundamentally unworkable” as it would weaken consumer protections and eventually reduce tax revenue for member states.
The proposal first came to light in a European Parliament Budget Committee opinion which noted several new potential revenue streams, including tapping online gambling.
“Such possible alternatives include a digital services levy, an online gambling levy, an extension of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), or a levy on crypto-asset capital gains,” the note read.
When the vice-president of the European Parliament, Victor Negrescu, made the initial proposal, he suggested it could generate as much as €28bn over seven years.
Roughly one eighth of Malta’s GDP is derived from the gambling sector. The country’s opposition Nationalist Party has said it would block any attempt to implement an EU online gambling tax if it gained power.
Nationalist Member of European Parliament (MEP) David Casa, speaking during a plenary debate on Wednesday, 20 May, argued this new levy would damage licensed operators and member states with large regulated sectors, while providing a boost to the international black market.
In March, the EGBA made a plea to the European Commission to take action against online gambling fraud. The trade body estimated 27% of Europe’s online GGR was generated by the black market in 2025.
The post Report: European Commission forecasts €13.3bn boost from potential EU gambling levy first appeared on EGR Intel.
Reported estimate suggests new tax could generate €1.9bn per year for the bloc between 2028 and 2034, although it has met opposition from Malta and the EGBA
The post Report: European Commission forecasts €13.3bn boost from potential EU gambling levy first appeared on EGR Intel.