Colombia Proposes 19% Tax on Online Gambling in Fiscal Reform
Key Facts
Colombia’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit has proposed a 19% value-added tax on online games of chance, saying the measure could generate tax revenue of nearly 1.7 trillion Colombian pesos in 2027. The proposal is part of a fiscal reform bill the government submitted to Congress on October 29, 2026. The bill aims to cut public spending by about 15%, as the package faces a difficult legislative debate. The proposed tax therefore remains part of an unresolved political process and is not yet in force. The ministry said the proposed measure targets online games of chance, while press coverage provides further details on how the tax would be calculated.
According to Complete iGAMING’s coverage, the tax provision would apply to player deposits starting in 2027, a different basis from a previous temporary tax on gaming revenue. In a 2026 decree, the Finance Ministry defined the tax base as a game’s gross revenue, meaning total wagers less prizes paid during the two-month period. The difference in calculation bases means the new proposal concerns the flow of money into players’ accounts, while the earlier decree covered revenue remaining after prizes were paid. A Jefferies analyst estimated that a tax on deposits could halt growth in player spending or reduce it by as much as 30%. This is the analyst’s estimate, reported by Complete iGAMING, not a disclosure or estimate from Rush Street Interactive.
The issue is significant for Rush Street Interactive, known by the ticker RSI, as it expands its operations in Latin America. The company recorded 607,308 monthly active users in the region, including Mexico, in the third quarter of 2026, up 46% year over year. Average revenue per monthly active user in the region was $58 over the same period. At the group level, RSI’s revenue rose to $385.9 million in the third quarter, up 39% from $277.9 million in the same period of 2025. Net income was $28.7 million, compared with $14.8 million a year earlier, a 93% year-over-year increase.
The company has previous experience with a temporary Colombian tax burden; its chief financial officer said on the third-quarter earnings call that applying the tax for about two and a half months of the first quarter of 2026 cost the company nearly $7 million. That was tied to the temporary decree cited in the company’s statement, which set a rate of 16%, and was included in the tax assumptions underlying its full-year outlook. RSI reaffirmed its 2026 revenue forecast of $1.56 billion to $1.60 billion. It also kept its forecast for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in a range of $245 million to $265 million. The company said the forecasts assume similar tax structures remain in place, including the temporary Colombian decree imposing 16%.
RSI management said on the earnings call that the 2027 budget approved by the government on October 20 did not include new taxes on the gaming sector. It added that the company had expected gaming taxes to return to their original rate and would continue monitoring legislation. But the fiscal reform bill the government later submitted to Congress includes the new proposal, leaving the legislative process a key factor in determining the tax position for 2027. Reuters says the fiscal deficit could reach 9.4% of gross domestic product under the 2027 budget assumptions, and that the government has described it as unsustainable. Reuters also reported that about 70% of the proposed fiscal adjustment would come from spending controls, with the remainder falling on higher-income earners and other taxpayers.