Peru bill would raise online betting consumption tax from 1% to 5% of each wager

A new bill in Peru proposes raising the selective consumption tax (ISC) on online bets from the current 1% to 5% of each wager. The proposal comes from the parliamentary group of the Civic Works Party. It would apply only to online betting, so land-based gambling would not face the increase.

The ISC would stay separate from the existing 12% gaming tax charged on the gross gaming revenue of remote gaming and sports betting operators. The same rate would apply whatever the operator's place of incorporation, whether in Peru or abroad. If passed, the law would take effect the day after publication in El Peruano, the official daily newspaper, and the 5% rate would apply from the first day of the following calendar month.

Peru launched its regulated online gambling market in February 2024, drawing international operators such as Stake, Rush Street Interactive and Betsson, which received licences. The launch is widely regarded as a success, but optimism has been dented by the 1% ISC, which has been enforced since 1 July 2025. A consumption tax was originally dropped before the market went live and was proposed again in 2024, when one lawyer warned iGB its impact on market viability would be catastrophic.

The bill gives two motives. It points to the growth of digital betting and its potential public health effects, noting that the Ministry of Health recorded 14,409 treatment cases for gambling addiction at health facilities nationwide in 2025. It says the tax is not meant as a solution to addiction but as an additional fiscal tool within wider prevention, regulation, oversight and care measures. It also describes a revenue-generating purpose, while stating that the aim is not to prohibit online betting but to raise the tax burden moderately.

The 1% ISC currently raises about S/324 million ($94.1 million) a year. At 5%, the bill suggests this could rise to S/1.62 billion, though it describes the figures as a static, illustrative scenario. It also cites other Latin American markets, including Argentina, where operators pay an indirect tax of between 2.5% and 15% on online betting, and Colombia, which applies 16% VAT on operators' GGR. On that basis it says 5% is not extraordinary for the region.

The bill acknowledges that operators could absorb the higher tax, pass some or all of it to bettors through changed betting conditions, or share it. In Colombia, some operators have offset the VAT's effect on players by crediting them with bonuses.