Irish Presidency's first draft of EU 2028-2034 budget leaves out proposed common online gambling tax

The Irish Presidency has left a common EU tax on online gambling out of its first draft of the bloc's 2028-2034 budget. Ireland became chief negotiator of the budget in July, and member states are due to agree terms on a multi-year plan that will fund the EU's economic programme and new projects.

The draft sets a spending ceiling of €1.62trn in constant 2025 prices, which is roughly €1.85trn in current prices. The figures remain subject to agreement and do not represent guaranteed contributions from all 27 member states. According to the report, the budget is expected to prioritise defence, energy security, technological innovation and re-skilling of the workforce.

The gambling levy was originally put forward by the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament. It was led by Romanian MEP Victor Negrescu, a vice president of the Parliament, who suggested a unified 1% tax on licensed gambling revenues across the EU. Negrescu and the S&D projected it would raise €2bn to €4bn a year, or around €14bn over a budget cycle, to fund education, youth programmes, mental health, addiction prevention and protection of minors.

The idea drew criticism. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) objected immediately, and the Maltese government later joined it, arguing that the tax would interfere with the sovereignty of member states to regulate their own gambling markets. Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela has backed the wider Budget 2028 initiatives, including common tax policies, but not a levy on online gambling.

The draft does call for a review of common taxes on emissions trading, electronic waste, tobacco consumption and carbon offsetting. It also keeps the Corporate Resource for Europe (CORE) proposal, a flat-rate annual lump-sum contribution from EU businesses with revenues above €100m. For tobacco, each member state would contribute 15% of an amount calculated from tobacco products released for consumption and the national minimum duty rates. Initial projections suggest that these common taxes, excluding gambling, could raise up to €55bn a year.

Support for common EU revenue sources is led by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa. The European Parliament has identified an online gambling levy as a possible funding measure, which could pressure the Irish Presidency to reconsider. The negotiating document is non-binding, and adopting the final Multiannual Financial Framework requires unanimous agreement in the Council and the consent of the European Parliament.