Greece defends higher tax on online casino winnings as withheld player taxes rise 27.3%

Greece's Finance Minister, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, has maintained his support for raising taxes on online casino winnings, saying the move will help increase revenue for public services. The measure took effect on 1 July and was first announced by the minister on 23 March.

Under the new rules, winnings between €100 and €500 are now taxed at 20%, up from 15%, while winnings above €500 face a 30% rate, up from 20%. Winnings of up to €100 remain exempt. Pierrakakis said the change would raise about €100m a year in public revenue, according to the Finance Ministry's official transcript. He presented online casino winnings as a source of funds to support households and businesses facing higher energy costs.

Figures published in October show that taxes withheld from gambling winnings reached €369m between January and August 2026, up 27.3% from €290m a year earlier. Total gross gaming revenue rose 4.2% to €2.06bn, and state participation receipts from operators grew 7.9% to €484.5m. These figures cover the wider gambling market and do not isolate the effect of the July tax increase.

Deputy Finance Minister Thanos Petralias said the rapid growth of online casino and poker justified a larger contribution to public finances, and that the sector could serve as a permanent source of budget revenue. He described a bigger public share of market growth as socially fair. Asked whether higher taxes might push players to unlicensed sites, he said revenue projections had accounted for demand elasticity and operator data. He also pointed to accompanying legislation against illegal gambling. Slots and poker were affected by the increase, while sports betting and other OPAP products remain under separate tax arrangements.

The tax changes sit alongside efforts to strengthen the Hellenic Gaming Commission. In October the regulator sought 40 staff on secondment, including seven IT specialists, to expand its inspection corps. The recruitment notice does not say whether the posts are funded by the higher player tax. The wider framework strengthens website blocking, investigative powers and sanctions, with administrative fines of up to €2m per infringement and prison sentences of at least ten years for specified offences. Separate penalties apply to the promotion of illegal gambling by influencers, affiliates and digital advertising networks.

The commission estimates Greek state gambling revenue at €1.17bn in 2025, made up of €737m from online and €433m from land-based activity. Pierrakakis told the regulator on 6 October that illegal gambling takes money from the state and undermines compliant businesses.