Colombia strikes down 19% gambling tax — Major win for licensed casino operators

Colombia's Constitutional Court on 5 June 2026 struck down the controversial 19% Value Added Tax on online gambling. The tax had been introduced by the government last year via emergency decree and applied to every operator licensed by the regulator Coljuegos. For the country's regulated gambling market, the ruling is the most significant regulatory victory since the market opened in 2016 — and a clear signal to other Latin American jurisdictions weighing similar tax models.

Background: Colombia was the first Latin American country to comprehensively regulate online gambling back in 2016. Today around 18 operators are officially licensed by Coljuegos, including international brands such as Betsson, Codere, Aquila, Wplay, Rivalo and the brands of the Rappi group. The 19% VAT — introduced in spring 2025 — applied on top of already high licensing and compliance costs and, according to industry data, materially dragged down regulated-sector revenues in 2025.

The Constitutional Court justified its decision primarily on procedural grounds: the government had misused its emergency-decree powers to introduce a new type of tax that would have required a regular legislative process. On the substance, it added, the government had not demonstrated that the online gambling sector was caught up in the general state of emergency that would justify resorting to decree law. The Ministry of Finance and the tax authority DIAN have been ordered to design a refund framework for amounts already paid — exactly when the money will flow back, however, remains open.

The timing is critical for the industry: with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, sportsbooks and casino operators worldwide are entering their busiest revenue phase. Colombian licensees had spent recent months pouring money into retention campaigns rather than new-customer acquisition, because the extra tax burden had eaten into marketing budgets. With the VAT gone, they can go on the offensive again — an important factor in pushing back the estimated 30–40% market share held by illegal offshore operators.

There is a catch: in parallel, the government had already introduced a new “National Consumption Tax” of 16% on online gambling via Decree 0240 of 2026. The industry hopes this decree will also be reviewed by the Constitutional Court and treated similarly — the reasoning in the current ruling is widely read as a clear signal that judges are sceptical of using emergency decrees to introduce new taxes. The next hearing is expected in late summer 2026.

For the German market, Colombia is not directly relevant — none of the operators licensed there holds a German GGL licence or is allowed to operate in Germany. Strategically, however, the case matters: it shows just how tightly tax burden, black-market share and regulatory success are linked. In Germany too, the Bundesrat has been debating for months the effective 5.3% turnover tax on gambling stakes — the highest in Europe — which the industry regularly cites as one of the contributing factors behind the roughly 25% black-market share the GGL estimated in May 2026.

For German players, nothing changes operationally: GGL-licensed operators such as JackpotPiraten, OnlineCasino DE, Merkur Slots, bwin Casino, Tipico Games and LeoVegas DE remain — irrespective of developments in Colombia — the only legally usable option. We are nonetheless watching the case closely, because it sets an important precedent for how constitutional courts deal with short-term tax hikes on regulated gambling markets — a question that may well become relevant inside the EU and individual German states in the medium term.