The European Union opened a new front over gambling taxation on September 2, 2026, with a political proposal to create a levy of around 1% on Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) generated across the 27 Member States, an idea aimed at expanding the bloc’s own resources but already facing resistance from governments and operators.
- Europe tightens financial and tax pressure on gambling
The most visible promoter is Victor Negrescu, Vice-President of the European Parliament and a member of the Committee on Budgets (BUDG), who proposed in February 2026 a common 1% contribution on gambling revenues. However, the European Commission has not included such a levy in its official own-resources package for the 2028–2034 budget, which is expected to generate around €58.5 billion annually through ETS, CBAM, electronic waste, tobacco and the Corporate Resource for Europe.
The biggest obstacle is legal. Article 311 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union requires unanimity in the Council and subsequent national approval to create new own resources. Malta, one of Europe’s largest iGaming hubs, has already expressed opposition. Prime Minister Robert Abela, together with Finance Minister Clyde Caruana and Economy Minister Silvio Schembri, is defending competitiveness and opposing new bloc-level taxes.
Prime Minister Robert Abela
The industry is also warning about channelisation risks. Pedro Miguel Garcia, Country Manager Portugal & Brazil at BacanaPlay, argues that uniform taxation would be difficult because of major differences between national markets. Lawyer Claire Pinson-Bessonnet, founding partner of CPB Avocats, says Europe would first need to agree on which products qualify as gambling and how to define a common GGR tax base.
Claire Pinson-Bessonnet
While taxation remains open, AML harmonisation is already real. EU Regulation 2024/1624 (AMLR) will apply from July 10, 2027, while the new AMLA, based in Frankfurt and chaired by Bruna Szego, will select around 40 entities in 2027 for direct supervision beginning in 2028.
The debate comes after fresh tax pressure in the UK, France, the Netherlands and Romania, where FDJ United reported around €52 million in additional taxes during the first half of 2026, while Estonia cut its online tax rate from 6% to 4% and Poland and Croatia saw corporate exits linked to tax pressure and black-market competition.
