Mexico considers 20 percent online gambling tax

Regulated online gambling is still relatively new in Mexico, but the industry’s youth hasn’t kept Mexican lawmakers from considering a hefty new tax for operators. Under a new tax regimen proposed by members of the Morena Party, online gambling operators would pay a whopping 20 percent tax on their revenue.
The gambling tax proposal was brought up by Emmanuel Reyes Carmona, a Morena Party member who also sits on the country’s Chamber of Deputies. In Mexico, the Chamber of Deputies has the power to increase the country’s excise tax on specific industries, and that’s exactly what Morena would like to do to online gambling operators.
Carmona is not exactly an anti-gambling politician and is one of many Mexican politicians who have promised to update Mexico’s long-dated gambling laws. The lawmaker is making some progress, online gambling is legal there now after all, but he says there’s still work to be done in making certain that online operators pay their share. In a statement to ElUniverso.com.mx, Carmona spelled his logic saying, “(online gambling) grows more and more and there is still no concise regulation on the matter. There are still many tax loopholes.”
His plan, which is still a long ways from actually becoming a law, is for online casinos to pay a tax that’s relatively comparable to what land-based casinos pay. But even with a tax boost, online casinos could still be catching something of a break with the proposed 20 percent tax. Land-based casinos in Mexico pay a whopping 35 percent tax on their revenue.