Spain is currently the latest country to consider the option of legalizing and regulating online gambling in the country, but a recently leaked draft of the legislation has operators across Europe fuming. The draft states that players would have to pay anywhere from 10% to 20% in taxes when gambling online at licensed online casino websites.
The news of the leak has made online gambling operators furious, as Spain seems to be going the way of France in terms of tax requirements. The Spanish Association of Online Gambling, the European Gaming and Betting Association and the Remote Gambling Association have come forward to voice their concerns about the proposed laws. They believe that players would be forced to seek membership with offshore online gambling operators, leaving those that paid a great deal to become licensed in a rough spot.
According to the president of the Spanish Association of Online Gaming, taxing the online gambling industry in this way would prevent operators from offering competitive products to customers. Instead, gaming authorities would like to see a tax scheme based on gross revenue, taxing the operator rather than the player. This would put all operators on even footing and allow for healthy competition between key players in the online gambling industry.
