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In my country (Australia) ALL gambling winnings and profits are 100% tax free.

You don't have to declare it because it is considered a hobby.

In the USA and other countries gambling winnings are treated the same as income and gambling companies are required by law to withhold federal income taxes.

If I had to pay taxes I would quit gambling. The risk wouldn't be worth it.

Does your country tax gambling winnings and if so do you declare it yourself or does the gambling operator withhold the taxes on your behalf?

While I completely support your position here and believe that gambling winning should not be taxed yet governments has their own way of treating this and many countries that has taxes in gambling considered this a money making machine  to add funds in their economy.

and for me this is normal because you risked in gambling like what you said for fun and hobby so i think your winning is just a bonus right? then why not give portion to the government because still that is worth a risk.

Only few gamblers are paying tax. Assuming someone has lost $1000 in gambling. If the person use $10 to win $20, he will not be taxed until he won all the $1000 that he lost. This is how crypto and gambling are taxed. Anyone losing already will not be taxed. Maybe this can be different in some countries but I doubt that.

According to what I found out online, gambling winning is not taxed in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In my country, gambling is taxed. But as most gamblers are losing more than win, it means most of them will not be taxed if they losses is more than their winning. The people I see payed the tax are those that won huge amount of money at once.

Government earn most gambling taxes from the gambling platforms and not from most people that are gambling.

I think it makes sense that casinos or other gambling platforms are taxed because they are running a business, but gambling winnings are not really an income because it is not a job.

besides most gamblers gamble secretly anyway so why would they want to file it on their tax fees.

Good point Charles.

I have been reading the Internal Board of Revenue stand on this and it doesn't seem to be clear to me. For instance, here (https://irs.kg.gov.ng/basic-facts-about-tax-on-winnings-of-pools-bettingsport-bettinglotteries-etc/) they said your tax on winnings is deducted at source. And my confusion is that does the casino or sports betting platform deduct the tax from the winnings before handling over the remainder to the winner? I know this is done when we eat at a restaurant or buy groceries but is this the case with gambling winnings?

It depends on the tax system being operated in the country. Some countries taxes every profit made at the point of the account receiving credit. Whereas in some countries, taxes depends on the source of income and varies accordingly, with some items under tax exemption and in this case, the individual have to state their sources of income to know the appropriate taxes that will apply. In my country, cryptocurrency and proceeds from gambling are not taxed, just few items are taxed but those items that fall into the category of taxable incomes are heavily taxed. It is the duty of the individual to declare his taxes to be issued a tax clearance certificate.

Paying taxes on winnings is 1 thing, but here in the USA they fuck ya 6 ways from Sunday. Let's say you go to a casino and play slots. You put $1000 into a machine and hit a bonus, the tax threshold is $1200. On your bonus you win $1201 total. You are taxed for the whole $1201, not $201 of profit. Same goes if you put $5000 in a machine and win $1200, you're down $3800 and still paying taxes.

It's all a joke.

Plenty that do so, tax only separate winnings on each ticket played directly, so you could have lost 100 bets before you will pay whatever tax is set for the winning one, Germany makes you pay a tax of 5% directly on the bet, you win you pay 5%, you lose..you lose.
It becomes easier with online casinos you will own the tax only on what you get out, but even so, they won't care if you have lost 2000 in another casino and you cashed out 4000 in a second one you will pay on your winning. The majority EU countries that do tax the gambler do it like this.

So the more losses that occur, there will be no taxes paid before the gambler goes beyond the amount of their losses or hits a bigger jackpot.

But is there no time span on the number of losses that occur, because of course many people have lost quite a lot in the past and then go back to gambling at the same casino with a smaller capital.

The tax rate at the federal level in the US is calculated like a regular income tax with a progressive tax trough of 10%-37%, and it also depends on the total taxable income.

the gamblers are not meant to pay any tax because the casino gambling are paying tax to the government, so it's not right for a winner to pay any tax if only the casino company make this as their new law. And if they try to input this as their new policy then they should be ready to lose more customers all over the global, cause no one would use money to place a bet and win and later lose the money by paying for tax it's unbearable. And if any country trys to make it as their policy and also pass behind and take tax from the casino company, that means they're killing the gambling lifestyle.

Well, in the Philippines, I think they have a tax on those casinos that use centralised or fiat currency, either online or physically. It may not be declared, but in some way, there is a hidden way the government could implement a tax on your gambling winnings, maybe not directly to the customer but to the casino. That's why there are fees or something that you need to pay without knowing in a casino. Thats why crypto currency gambling is the best choice if you don't want your winnings to be taxed by the government because your winnings could go straight to your crypto wallet and you could convert your assets in order to use them for daily living. Even though KYC is going around or being implemented in most casinos, even crypto casinos, there is no way that the government could impose a tax on your earnings in crypto currency.

Every country may have different rules but as you said the Australian government think it is a hobby and they do not tax it. But what about the Australian people? Do they also consider it a hobby or treat it as a money making activity? I think the people of Australia are extremely lucky to have this rule in place, else in most parts of the world, the government would not let go of any tax collecting opportunity.


Most of the people in my country would not pay the taxes on gambling. Just as an human nature, we try to avoid tax as much as we can. However i like your point that gambling operator can tax themselves just like if anyone is doing job, the organization detucts taxes from their salaries and deposit in government accounts. Same can be done by the gambling operators so that people are encouraged to pay tax but tax should be on the net profits and not on the deposits.

Unless you win back all the lost amount on the casino, the profit is not deducted by government. The main point is to be profitable in the gambling, even if I had to pay the 10% of the total winnings, I agree to pay the required amount to avoid the hassle. Depending on the point of the view, your account is also risk-free from gambling scam since they are also interested to be regulated by government to show the truthfulness of the gambling platform, IMHO.

You would be surprised how many things are taxed today :D In my country, if I would send you 2000 EUR as a present, you would have to pay income tax from it :D But most stupid is that pension is taxed. You work and pay taxed to get a pension when you retire, but when you retire you pay tax again, because government consider your pension as income. Such a bs! As to gambling tax, the amount you win in my country is considered as income as well. However, you got taxed only if your win more than 5k per month. I dont find if fair thing to do, as government does not risk anything. If I win, they get tax. If I lose, they should cashback me a little. That would be fair :D That would be their investment in to me and me paying tax.

Sometimes a country needs to impose taxes on the gambling industry to discourage people from gambling and gain income from the industry. Especially in countries like the US where the gambling industry is quite massive, they need to regulate and tax the winnings generated from gambling to be able to advance their economy. And even though Australia does not tax gambling winnings, each state is given the right to tax gambling winnings - and when you gamble you will usually be subject to gambling tax and especially for professional gamblers they need to report their winnings to be taxed. So the gambling tax system in Australia is different, but the outcome is the same - but I agree that gambling winnings should not be taxed.

People indirectly pay taxes without knowing it, when you enter a shop to buy something, you'll be paying value added tax on what you bought, also when you earn, the payee has deducted tax from the amount that you're entitled to receive and the government is the receiver of these taxes. I feel that in countries like Australia, where gambling is not taxed, their governments can still be collecting income taxes from the gambling companies, who will remit it from the percentages of gamblers bets. Tax is the major source of income of governments and they are therefore entitled to every income that is made in their country, whether directly or indirectly including gambling..

Having to pay taxes is just a fact of life. The way around that is to just consider it paying for entertainment and make sure that you don’t win any money. It happens…

As gambling becomes more and more legalized in the states, I’m sure lobbyists will eventually target taxes as industry growth slows. We’re just a long way from that currently.

In my own country gambling win are been taxed but not all wins as there is a set-up amount you have to win for you to be taxed from. Small money wins has nothing to do with government taxes. Am sure on this because I have always withdraw every of my wins in complete figure owing to the amount.

Only huge wins and the gambling companies are taxed and it makes sense to me that way instead of classifying all gamble win. Am sure this is not same with other countries where they tax almost any amount  of gambling win without putting into consideration how much money the gambler must have lost previously before arriving to that meager win.

Here in our country, as long as a casino is regulated, you play on their platform, and at the same time you win a large amount, it also has a tax. But there are also many
gambling establishments here in our country that operate illegally in our country.

And there are also many influencers who are known on social media who promote illegal gambling casinos online as well, which probably do not pay taxes.

Good for you that in your country, gambling winnings is not taxable. But most countries do tax their gambling for a certain purpose. I mean the taxes that they got is going to used by the government for infrastructure and others like for building hospital and medicines.

Not to burst the bubble, but i don't think that you will quit gambling just because you are being tax. For sure you will still enjoy it and maybe getting some good wins that will continue with you gambling not just because you will have to pay taxes.

You're lucky to live in Australia with tax-exempt gambling winnings, but not every country has similar legislation. As far as I know, in most countries prize money is taxed, because almost no government will refuse such a tidbit of taxpayers' money. My country is no exception and the burden of paying taxes lies on the gambler, who is obliged to pay 13% of the winnings received (for non-residents - 30%). That is, the gambler received the money, after which he declares and pays taxes.

In countries like Australia where gambling is not taxed, not that the gambling platforms are not taxed. All gambling platforms that are operating legally in Australia are taxed by their government. The citizens are not taxed means if an Australian citizen won 200 Australian dollar, he will be given the whole 200 without deducting any tax. But as gamblers are losing and the gambling platform are able to continuing the progress of their platform, they also pay tax to the government. This is different from the value added tax that you are talking about.

That should it be since this is not came from anywhere and we need to feel lucky without getting taxed since somehow we will get feel bad about it especially there are countries who asked huge tax to people especially for this kind of activities.

Its also important for the casino to consider to pay all the taxes and offer tax free reward since there are some platform or institution doing that. But not all implementing this that's why other winners think its waste money goes for tax which instead they enjoy but government take a huge share from them.

Yes I feel the same way as you at times OP, but the
truth is that gambling casinos sites and companies do have to pay taxes because they are operating under commissions that is being approved the government.

That is to say the government has an access in scrutinizing the legitimacy of the company and understands that it an investment potentials of providing incomes to the gambling company owners and then gives them legal licence of establishment.

Where I feel upset is the taxations on gamblers who are not even sure of their winning or even to say they have made profit at a certain winning because your winning in the casino today may not really imply that you have made profit hence we looses more than winning.
We can also imagine the law damaging gamblers to pay taxes just on gaming for fun.

But while these taxes are being demanded, I think the regions where it is exercised would produce more of matured gamblers who are disciplined to their incomes and expenses.

How I wish we were like Australia, our government is getting 20% of the profit of our winning

Here in our country, it's our government's cash cow

Same here in our country, the good thing is the government is transparent in showing where the money goes and this is for keeping and maintaining the government public hospital, the government cannot do it on its revenue so it relies on the taxes coming from gamblers.

I don't think you can,  if you try to do that then gambling for you is making money and not a hobby

The winner when receiving his winning already deducted 20% of the taxes everything was recorded on the gambling platform, our government has seen huge profits coming from the gambling industry so the government so they monopolized it and so they are the ones running the majority of gambling platform here in our country.




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Only for the national lottery and the city cockpits, all those gambling activities do have tax included once you are going to receive it.

Well, those games are legal and controlled by the government so there's no escaping the taxation. I think in physical casinos it is different. They have already included all the taxes on your bets and you won't have to pay anything after you win unlike the other two that I mentioned where it will be explained why there's a tax and how much it was.

When it comes to online gambling, I think it's the same way as how it is with physical casinos. They are getting it all back through house edge or it is an invisible tax.

Not all countries are like Australia, third world countries that tax their gambling industry need money to sustain their economy, like here in our country but we don't care much about taxation we aim at how to win to alleviate our finances

Taxation here in our country is automated.  our government is in dire need of money to sustain our economy so they made it automated, taxes on gambling are a necessary evil, and our government needs to do it as we are classified as a third-world country.

this must have feel good, reading and seeing lottery jackpot winners in the USA losing almost half or more than half of their winnings is just ridiculous.

they do tax gambling winnings but it needs to be a certain amount before they start taxing it. also from what I remember reading, you'll have to declare it yourself before it gets taxed but when it comes to lottery winnings, it is automatically taxed.

Unfortunately gambling is subjected to taxable income in my country, but I rarely earn profit through gambling, so it doesn't bother me. Australia seems like the best country to live, the wage is high and there are many jobs opened, it just they have big insects and deadly animals.

Meh, third world countries have a lot money and they don't have any financial problem because the government corrupt the money to enrich themselves. They're taxing gambling profit because they're greedy and want to earn more.

Government don't take tax from gamblers in my country either win or lose, because government is against gambling base on the way many people have used their property and other things to gamble, which is the reason our government use to encourage people not to spend what they can't afford to lose in gambling .

Since government cannot help you to recover your losses in the gambling, government should not impose taxes on gambling winning, because it will not allow the gamblers in that particular country to grow financially like the way other gamblers in other countries that are not collecting tax from gamblers are doing well.

Well, maybe there is a reason why such government imposed taxes in gambling winning which their gamblers are comfortable about it in that country, but such thing will not going to work in my country because of unemployment in the country.

I also thought the same thing, maybe I will close my gambling account and I have to start new tricks.
Or I will plant palm oil in large quantities and I will be civilized with green nature, I will leave the city full of glass.

For now I don't see anything strange in gambling, especially regarding taxes, whatever I win and I make a full withdrawal without a penny deducted, that's for now, I don't know what the future holds.
The point is that the tax exists, but it applies to the gambling industry only, but they do not deduct from the user's winnings.

You should be thankful your country Australia is considered a First World Country, they don't need to tax gambling but there are countries that out of extreme necessity have to tax the gamblers.
So between the choice of banning gambling and taxing it, they choose the option that can help them generate funds, not all countries have the same views about gambling be thankful that your country does not tax your winning.
I'm ok taxing my winning as I can see where my taxes are going some people bet because they believe they are helping their government through their taxes.

HHmm really? That's awesome. I really thought before that Australia is tight in tax, especially in gambling matters but I'm wrong. I realized that Australia is also one of the wealthiest countries in the world, right? And their economy or country must be well-developed already and there is nothing much that they can add into it, so they start to lighten things now when it comes to tax charges.

People there must be well-educated and well-disciplined too, so I can believe when they say that gambling there is only considered to as a hobby. If let say you had to pay taxes, it can be fine as long as you are a well-skilled gambler, or simply very lucky to win at all times. If not, it can still provide you an entertainment, so why not? I'm clueless about this matters in my own country but I have a strong feeling that it wasn't taxed here yet despite that our country is not that rich as yours.

Gambling here is also tax-free. If I win, I usually withdraw the entire amount, and nothing is removed by the casino. But every cash transaction has a tax. For example, if I withdraw my casino account to my bank account, some percentage will be cut off as tax. The same thing is applicable when I make a transfer to anyone; I will be taxed for that amount. I don't know if that's how it is in every country, but I know that the government doesn't joke with tax. So, I will not be surprised that taxes are applicable to gambling in some countries. That's not what can make me stop gambling if the same thing is initiated here. 

Definitely the gambling operation withholds the taxes from winnings of a particular player, and without that money to be collected from them by authority; their operation couldn't prosper for a long period of time. That's the requirement to run the gambling business so they should comply it mandatorily. You can't shoulder that taxes your own self, and  I haven't heard gambling winnings deducted by taxation unlike the local goods and commodities which is really affected with huge tax implementation by the law. The citizen who played gambling isn't earning profitably but rather luck is only the main motive, not a consistent profit so it shouldn't be included on a person who bet for gambling as well.

It differs from country to country, but if you ask me, I am not in favor of taxing gambling winnings unless it's a huge win like a lottery jackpot. In such cases, we can assume that overall, the winner will become profitable with that large amount.

However, taxing winnings in a casino is not acceptable to me. Casinos are profitable in the long run, and when we win, we usually come back to gamble again, risking losses. So, it doesn't make sense to tax our gambling winnings. It seems like the government is imposing a form of double taxation, which is a burden on us gamblers.

I wouldn't mind too. However, in our country, winning from the lottery is tax free, so I could enjoy the winning 100%. About the taxes on winning, I don't remember we have that kind of tax being impose, I guess it's only impose on casinos and they'll have to pay taxes for their operation. If ever a gambler will pay taxes, that's more like an income tax, but it's not actually necessary to declare that, so the government won't know we are gambling, you know, when you re a gambler, you don't have a good reputation because some people are judgmental.



I'm with you on that, how can we pay taxes when we are losing most of the time, paying taxes would only result to more losses.

It varies I guess.

If the casinos will tell you that you've won a tax-free lottery jackpot then you won't doubt them as it comes from them. And any gain that someone makes whether it's from any hustle or gambling, I think they're all taxable and will be considered as income to an individual.

Again, this varies per country and really depends on how laws in your country's have been made. So, in Australia, check it out in which state are you so let's put that out and try to check the other areas if gambling gains are taxable there or not.

Gambling is seen as a source of income in my country hence wins in my country are taxed under general income tax laws. But while submitting your tax returns statement, gambling losses will be reported as expenditures. So gamblers would have to deduct their losses from wins before the taxable income will be determined. This method of taxation is fair because the government shouldn't just consider only wins, meanwhile, bettors have been incurring many losses. I am also of the view that gambling should be tax free because it is not a source of income. The government should see it as an entertainment that people engage in just for fun.

Any service that you use is taxable especially if it’s involved money. You are paying tax when you purchased something or hanging out in the bar for leisure time. This is same principle on gambling since you are paying for it.

In my country, Gambling tax varies depending on the game which winning comes from. Lottery has the highest tax since it has huge prize and operated by the government itself. Casino charge taxes too for licensed operators.

Your only chance to avoid tax here is through playing on unregulated casino.

I agree with the OP's proposal but I don't think the majority of politicians will pay attention. If not, don't be surprised if Australia imposes taxes on casino profits in the future.

To complete what others have said about how it is taxed in various countries, in Spain the net profits you obtain at the end of the year are added to your income tax, which discourages betting if you are in the highest bands, 37% or 45% (in some regions a little more). The people who are in these bands either don't bet, or if they are poker or sports betting professionals they have long since emigrated, or they bet under the table, so to speak, in cryptocurrency casinos.

That's good for your people because they don't have to pay the tax. But that can attract people to playing gambling too often and will not consider that can gives risks for them because use gambling as a hobby can makes them use much money without care. Your government must campaign about the risks of playing gambling so their people can be careful when playing gambling.

Many examples about people who becomes addicted to gambling while they use gambling as a hobby and it should gives concern to any government to their citizen. I accept if I must pay the tax for gambling winnings as long as the amount is not too big, especially for people who doesn't wins much money. The tax should be adjust from their wins amount and it's better the gambling operator withhold the taxes on our behalf so we don't have to bother to do that by ourselves.

Same here, where I'm from, we own the full possession of our gambling wins. I don't see any reason why taxes has to be implemented on gambling in the first place. It certain we are responsible for the wins and loses we experience in gambling so why should gambler pay task of their gambling wins, knowing fully well by the government that gambling is risky and the winning possibility is very low, as the house is always on the winning side. I can't help but think most of these government officials are just being wicked and mean to humanity. Though some person are already used to paying tax from almost all that they do, and it's no big deal for them in paying taxes from their gambling.

In Australia, a very interesting case occurred: Joe Hachem.

The guy was a chiropractor, but when he returned to his country, Australia, they wanted to charge him taxes for having won a prize in Las Vegas, that is, if prizes from casino earnings are taxed.

If it is your main income, yes. In the case I mentioned, he managed to prove that it was not his main income and was exonerated for that prize, but since his earnings were greater than his income as a chiropractor, he had to declare himself as a professional poker player later.

So, be careful with what you say, personal cases do not always apply to everyone.

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Simple answer; Because you gain money.

Government charge taxes for every profit which the citizens earned or gain regardless of the source. It’s called capital gain tax which simply growing your capital. In some country like 3rd world country the implementation of this tax law is not absolute since it requires a thorough tax audit in able to monitor all citizens.

But this is possible and happening country like US. You are using all the services by the government which is paid by taxes. Even the road, police and other public services is run by the tax so they have the right to charge a tax on your gain whether you like it or not since they need it to run the country.

Yeah I understand the whole concept  of taxation and how they need this to regenerate capital for the economy, but paying taxes off gambling seems to sound a bit off to me considering the risk attached to wining a bet. Too much taxes definitely increases the cost of living and how about those who aren't able to meet up family needs after paying up all those taxes from their fixed earned salary? Majority  of them are just left with no choice but to migrate elsewhere where they can actually survive without necessarily paying taxes for anything they do or use.

Not the casino but the gambler's winnings, of course as a gambling company needs to pay taxes to the government and that is usually already quite mandatory for any businessman, but ii about the gambler who gets the winnings from gambling in some countries it is taxed, just like you when you get the winnings from your game or bet then the winnings are taxed by the government and will be deducted directly when you make a withdrawal.

It should be tax-free for gamblers because when they lose they get nothing, not even compensation from the government.

I've heard about such countries who place taxes on gambling, which I think is totally illogical as gambling isn't a job but a means of having fun. What should be takes in the whole gambling scene are the casinos, since they literally represent the whole gambling body and every user. In my country, we literally don't pay any tax for gambling. Gambling shouldn't be taxed on any country as it's a game of luck which requires skill and experience. Should we be taxed on having skills to gaming or predictions? Just like telling me that when I bet on sport I will have to pay a percentage of it to the government for winning.what of the time when I loses.

On many countries those taxes are set at the state level and not the federal one, this means that even at the same country the taxes you may need to pay could be very different, however I agree with you that gambling profits should be tax-free, since we are not really talking about an income over you may have any sort of control, but tell that to governments that want to know everything about you, and in which you are even supposed to declare whatever gift you receive on the form of cash, as it is considered to be a form of income as well.

I think, if a certain country requires gamblers to pay taxes, then it seems like it would be more appropriate if there is a minimum profit that goes towards tax payments. That way, I think it would be fairer because of course, the tax payment would also be good for the revenue or maybe also the state treasury. So, because for example only large profits are required to pay taxes, then gamblers who bet just for fun and do not prioritize large profits, then they are not required to pay taxes. Because after all, gamblers don't always win big every day and therefore, they also won't always pay taxes every time they gamble, because they will only pay when they get a big profit and I think that would be better and maybe fair.

I agree with you here. Local casinos and online casinos should be taxed and not the gamblers. I don't see any reason why someone will bet with a small amount of money and still get taxed from the little winning. However, the government has been the one taxing local casinos and online casinos so that is why they see it necessary to tax the gamblers whenever they gamble.

Whether fun or not for profit. It shouldn't be taxed, because it has to do with risk. Imagine a situation where they tax people for investing online or in a different asset no one would want to go into investment.

Yes in my country we are not taxed and we are safe from gambling taxes, because gambling is illegal in our country so we access it in secret without any deep supervision and without any regulation to regulate a gambling activity, the government only prohibits it.

And indeed gamblers are not a profession that should be subject to income tax, it's too sad if gamblers who win they have to be taxed if they want to take their winnings, then when they lose they only bear it themselves, I think this has a certain purpose such as reducing the level of gamblers because it is considered that gambling is detrimental if you win and people who think about business will rule out gambling and only consider gambling as entertainment without thinking about having to earn money in gambling because the government will definitely deduct it regardless of the amount won, IMO.

It is quite difficult to convey if only one voice, it will only be considered as a waste by the owner of the regulation and maybe they don't even want to hear if a few people say it, they need a lot of time to be heard by the owners of the authority.

In most EU countries it's similar and you have to add the income from gambling to your total income on that year and pay tax. The only thing that differs between countries is the rate.

I agree that it should not be taxed, because whenever you take the risk and can lose everything, it's not a job or an investment. None of these give you 100% loss, unless you get scammed, but gambling does and therefore it should not be treated the same.

On the other hand, if they're taxing lottery wins, why not tax other forms of gambling? I'm still against it, but I know where this comes from.

So what happens if you win from casinos that not in australia but from overseas? Because what i am reading from your Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (the IGA). It's forbitten to use internet casinos all together and for at least most casinos to serve australian citizens.

Or are you just taking a risk and using VPN and hope that no one will close your account?

In EU, citizens can also get tax free wins from ETA area and many countries can play online with other casinos on top of that, but from them they are required to pay taxes after serious wins.

Yes. I've just seen 15% of our earnings from online bets are eaten by the government through taxes. And we have to declare all our winnings to the government yearly.

However, it gets worse when the matter is the federal lottery, as only 30% of the total sum of the lottery's money is paid to the winners. Almost 70% of the amount consists in taxes the government takes for themselves.

That is, if the amount is 100$ million, the winner is only going to receive 30,4$ million in the end. On the other hand, I must say that when the lottery announces the prize, they already announce the real prize, ignoring the portion which goes to the government's pockets.

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Taxes should definitely be taken out of the casino end and they should get taxed quite punitively really. I agree that it is very unfair to tax the winnings of gambling, as people have already paid their income tax on this money and it's basically a form of double taxation. However most of Europe are progressive and treat it similar to Australia, gambling is designed to be fun - the last thing anyone wants to do is be tallying up the amount that will be deducted from their winnings to the taxman who contributed nothing. Then again, it's a bit like the bizarre tipping culture in America as well, where if they just paid people a proper wage to start then tips would be given for exceptional work only and nobody would feel obliged to partake in the fakeness surrounding it.

I agree with OP. I'm tired of discussing this, taxes on gambling is the most absurd thing you can think of, the chances are 50/50 to win or lose in a game, when you lose your bet, the government doesn't reimburse you.

The government acts like a mafia partner that forces us to include it in our profit shares, we already pay enough taxes to support the state apparatus and we don't get the expected return.

Here we have wonderful posts and answers that I learned a lot: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5489841

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/11/30/brazil-to-impose-15-tax-on-crypto-earnings-held-on-offshore-exchanges-report/

Our tax system is not that effective as we have the policy yet they cannot fully implement it.
So even if it's subject for tax, gamblers can easily get away from it and continue their gambling. Though it can only be tax once you declared it, and on this case many gamblers will not declare this and the government will also not do anything to chase those gamblers especially those who win big.

In my country, whether you gamble in a license gambling platforms or unlicensed gambling platforms, they don't tax you from your gambling money and it's a very lucrative business here, millions of dollars are been generated here monthly and despite the love of tax by my country government, they don't charge but they definitely charge the license casino and other gambling platforms to pay their taxes to the government because we can see them fighting many companies who doesn't comply with them.

I don't really know the logical reason behind why they don't tax gambling but the number of unemployment here is very rampant and youth see gambling as a form of ways to make extra cash in the bag, it will be unjust for government to still want to tax them from winning gambling because who will really compensate them for the losses? Absolutely nobody but still want to tax the days they win, that system of taxing doesn't work well with me but I don't know where there are many job opportunities.

As I have done quick search on countries that offer zero taxes on lottery winnings, people from these countries can enjoy their winnings without worrying about their government :
> Canada
> UK
> Australia
> Germany
> Sweden
> New Zealand
Source : 6 Countries That Offer Zero Taxes on Lottery Winnings (https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/6-countries-that-offer-zero-taxes-on-lottery-winnings/ar-AA1hNcfw?fullscreen=true&apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1)


I believe you can evade the tax system if you are using crypto casinos or bookies, unless, your country is very strict on declaring gambling winnings. Also, licensed casinos have in their ToS about your responsibility depending on your jurisdiction. But in cases like lottery system, just like from where I residing right now, they automatically deduct 20% from your lottery winnings if it exceeds about $170. So that's quite a large cut from your winnings. But you have no choice but to comply because they will deduct it already.

I do online gambling where I don't have to pay any tax. Also, like you, if I had known that I would have to pay for gambling, I would not have gambled. If I win in gambling, I can pay tax if the government gives me tax money back on my loss or if it gives any subsidy. Since that is not possible, it would not be logical to take taxes from the gambler personally. If taxes are taken then it is best to get taxes from those gambling companies. On a personal level I would never look positively on taking taxes.

I saw a minimum of 24% tax on gambling and I screamed because this is too much, I'm not sure if I can survive in this type of country with this heavy tax maybe I don't really understand this gambling taxing of a thing, like win $100 for example and your take home after tax is going to be $76, that's too much even if the tax is needed and very much important for the development of the country.

There are countries that are tax free from gambling but I don't know how the companies makes settlement with this casinos but I want you to know that gambling is a very lucrative business for some people, there are people that has made fortune and has made millions of dollars from gambling turned into other business, now imagine people making money from there and they are also benefiting from other people resources but they are not paying to quota, it doesn't make sense. They have to pay too but I think this number of percentage is high. The tax should be base on money earn from casinos and not generalized earning on percentage.

Here in our country then its not, you would be getting those wins 100% not unless if you would really be transferring those winnings in fiat form into your bank account and then having those sudden huge deposit then it would really be surely ring a bell and they will really be that locking up  your bank account and asking on where those funds came from. On the moment that they've seen you that you are making such huge money then there would really be those times or moment that tax should really be implied or should be deducted on which it is really that a shit condition to have. So far i havent been able to experienece it since
i havent that been able to experience those huge winnings in the first place.  :P

If ever you would really be having some deduction from your winnings at the moment that you will be making some gambling winning withdrawal then you wont really
be having any choice but to deal with it.

But are gamblers truly taxed by the government in some countries? I really can't say on how other nations structure their tax systems and whether gamblers are included in tax waivers or not. But for a country like Nigeria where I currently reside, I doubt if taxing gamblers is something that's practiced here because firstly to mention, the government is not really expecting any profit to be made by them and would not know or have an idea on how they can be taxed since it's a win or lose situation.

As for the gambling companies, I'm pretty sure the government is already taxing them since they make profits and have their companies registered for the sake of making profits, then they must be taxed. This is why if the government finds out you run a gambling outfit and it's unregistered or not under their regulations, you can be prosecuted. But I think this is a topic I will like to explore.

Taxes are accompanied by death and these two are the permanent things in the world. While some gamblers enjoy the tax-free scene that they have in their own countries.

And we read some crazy ways of being taxed whether you win or not. Well, we're all free to gamble however we want and if we're not satisfied with the percentage and amount of tax that we're billed and obliged to pay as we gamble, you better just quit it.

But then, this isn't about the taxes why many gamble but about the entertainment and those who are gambling for profit, they know that this is one obligation that they need to adhere to.

I think the government do not really cares about our opinion even though we keep agitating about whether gambling winnings need to be taxed or not. There are so many people that have lost so much funds and if the government starts taxing people from all their winnings then I see it as unfair because of the time they were making loses and nit earning money. The profit might be in a form to recover the most funds. If we don't win to today and win tomorrow that could be a form to recover our lost bet of yesterday and if the government is collect their tax because we have win a bet and not to compensate us for losses then I still think that this is selfish.

It is very strange that my country, Mozambique, is not on this list, given that in my country, people who win lotteries do not pay taxes, even in the case of sports betting, people do not pay taxes when they win. What happens in my country is the following: when a person buys 1 lottery ticket, then tax will be charged, that's why the lottery company in my country sets a lottery ticket price that includes the tax, when people do sports betting on local sports betting sites in my country, when placing a bet they pay tax, for example a person bets 10$ so with tax that person will be betting with 8$, but if that person is correct in the bet and ends up with 30$ , at the time of withdrawal this person will only pay the transaction fee that the payment processor charges in my country


honestly, it doesn't make any sense to charge taxes to the winners, since the winner depended on luck to win, it's not something that happens often, and entertainment, the governments of the countries that charge taxes to the winners, should remove these meaningless measures, people Those who play are not doing business, there is no guaranteed profit, which is why it makes no sense for them to be charged taxes when they win, and the most shocking thing is that they charge high amounts of taxes

It depends on what type of government you have. We cannot generalize this as not all countries have the same law, and in fact, in our country, I think our governmnet does not tax gambling winnings as personally I haven't paid any taxes at all. So I can say that our government is gambling friendly and they understand that gamblers does not make money, it's the gambling sites or the casinos.

Taxing gambling winnings is probably just another way to discourage gambling, so if us gamblers feel it's unfair since we are not winning all the time, then most likely we will think of stopping gambling if we don't want to break the law, or just continue gmabling without paying taxes and take the risk.

That's true, they're discouraging people to gamble but they can't deny the fact that they're raking billions on this industry just with the taxation alone.

Like OP, he doesn't have to take any risk at all. If he's the guy that gambles and wins, and not obliged to pay taxes based on their ordinance whether it's from national or municipal then he's in a tax-free haven area. For which means that the country is getting more taxes from the income and permits of the operation of the casinos rather than the people that makes money from their winning when they gamble.

Lol, that must be a joke, they should be taxing profits only and not the whole amount, that's like earning money first, getting taxed on the income, and then when you use the income for gambling, get taxed on it again along with the profits that you earn, that doesn't make any sense.

I have heard that in countries where gambling is a legal thing, they tax gambling profits, but I have never heard that even your initial deposit gets taxed, this is insane ;D.

In my country, gambling isn't legal, so there are no casino establishments but there are online platforms that people use for gambling purposes but I don't think they declare their winnings.

I think the logic here is when you put your money in the machine it’s already not yours but already part of the machine that’s why all the money that will go out on that machine will be subjected o tax because you can consider it as payment for entertainment in exchange for potential profit.

I believe this kind of taxation is only applicable on some countries to discourage people to gamble by charging unfair taxes. User have a choice whether they will gamble or not since this taxation law is not for them.

Luckily, here gambling in casino doesn’t have strict implementation on taxes. Only lottery and other government regulated gambling games are subjected to strict tax implementation.

I have never paid any taxes so far in online crypto casinos and I'm not even sure that are there any taxes on gambling income in the place where I live.

I believe in my place gambling isn't even considered legal or illegal and that's why there are no tax or other laws about it.

I hope that it should be similar in future so we as residents of the place can enjoy sometime with gambling and not pay taxes if we win the bets.

You can add Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland and France to that list, at least when that lottery is played inside the European economic area.

Fun fact: because of our biggest lotteries in eu are national lotteries and eurojackpot as an euro transnational lottery. Because those are state-run, they don't really need to ask for taxes for the winnings as they make plenty of money with them and most of the time allocate huge portion of their revenue to good causes, (education, health, etc) that require tax money to get funded anyway.

If you are gambling in local casinos, the casinos operating are likely paying taxes, which means they are registered as a business and gambling is legal in your country. Taxing gamblers and taxing casinos are two different things. Only a few countries tax gamblers on their winnings, but all countries that have legalized gambling require the casinos to pay taxes.

I also live in a country where winnings from gambling are not taxed, or maybe it's not enforced, but I'm pretty much aware that the casinos operating here are paying the required taxes. Another thing to note is that if we are gambling online at casinos not operating in our jurisdiction, we can't be taxed on that either.

Well, in my country, it is taxable. Quite high actually and the reason is because gambling is not really widely accepted here. The idea of registering a casino or lotteries perhaps has its consequences which has something to do with tax. Common I guess with most of the countries. And if you're a gambler then you will just comply than to not be able to play at all. Good thing that web 3 gambling was introduced to all of us wherein payments or transactions are being done through blockchain which helps to avoid taxes. Although we're paying services to the gambling provider but it's definitely a different thing than with taxation.

Bottomline is, you will have to follow these regulations especially if it is strictly being inplemented or find ways where you would be able to avoid taxation of your gambling winnings. Last option is to move to other country wherein you would be able to gamble freely.

Yes, the casinos may pay taxes because they're a type of business and each business has to pay taxes in order to work in a jurisdiction.

But, there could be some illegal casinos who may not pay taxes to a government directly but may pay commission to corrupt administrative officials.

The end user doesn't have to pay any taxes in that case because he's not a part of that business but someone who just utilizes it for his/her fun.

While that makes sense in our justification that if it's not guaranteed then it shouldn't be taxed. But you know these governments are going to take whatever they can take from us.

As long as it is a gain for us, then that means a gain for them too. Unless the winnings have been declared to be nontaxable or 100% tax free then that's much better.

I used to see lottery winnings that have been like that but for most typical casino games, they're not.

Definitely, and those casinos are getting money from us, not that they steal from us but the reality is most gamblers losses money so we are the source of income on that casinos. With that, it's a simple logic, when we are the source of income to them, that means we are spending money as our expenses, and no way these expenses are being taxed, unless the government wants to give us this burden that would result us to quit gambling. If that is their intention, then might as well ban gambling for good, so everyone will not benefit.

wow! This nice confirmation of gambling as a hobby. Because when I created the thread https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5492454.msg63932181#msg63932181 some people or gamblers disagree with me and I know that any all real gamblers will agree with me that gambling is a hobby.

You don't have to quit gambling because of the government tax indirectly collected from the casino company in your wins. And I believed it would not be a big amount. If you win $100 the tax might be $2 or less. So you don't have to quit because of that. My country is also tax free in gambling. And you know US government is very strict with it dealing and they use that taxes to develop the country but my country has nothing to offer to the citizens.

Gambling winnings are taxed in some countries. The taxes on these winnings are usually deducted by the gambling operators before payment is made to the winners. Nonetheless, it is still the responsibility of winners to report such winnings in their annual tax returns.

This is not the case in Australia; gambling winnings are seen as a hobby and therefore not taxed. I see your point: if winnings were taxed, it could deter people from gambling as they might perceive the risk not worthwhile due to sharing potential profits with the government.

There are different taxation systems for gambling winnings in various countries and that they can be an influence of a decision to gamble. Those who live in the states with a gambling winnings tax must know their responsibility to avoid any legal problems later on.

Pretty sure the PH does? Just that I haven't really withdrawn any amount of money I've played with at all and at some point in general it goes to zero so I can't really consider any win of mine as taxable, I think. I guess initially, I've won and withdrawn some bits of money but I don't think it's even past the minimum amount taxable here lol.

And to add, even if the casinos tax you on your win would that apply on your country? Most crypto casino users are not from that casinos country of operation after all.

Here in the country, as far as I know, there are taxes that are taken from gamblers when they withdraw a large amount when a casino is regulated by the government where it is located. But when it's tax-free, casinos like that are usually illegal, in my opinion.

But always, if we are the gambler or the player who won the jackpot in the casino, we don't want to be taxed. That's why we still have to follow because those are the rules of our government as long as we don't deduct too much.

Yes, there are taxes and the operator withholds and pays them himself. In the annual declaration, you can write only part of the net profit after taxes. I think that not taxing winnings will be a serious loophole for money laundering through, for example, fixed matches, for example, you can spend large sums. And so with The state has minimal control over the players.

It's all relative.  If they don't tax gambling winnings then they are just going to tax something else.  In terms of whether or not I feel.like they should I actually do.  This is like the lottery, tax those things much harder than income taxes.  If hobby activity can be taxed to bring in money then they can offset hard income taxes which for people on the lower end of the financial spectrum means whether they can eat or not.  All for it.

Well I don't think I have heard about gambling winnings actually being task over here in my country although am too sound with the regulation about gambling winnings and casino but one thing I know is that I haven't come across a situation or complaint of someone actually being tasked when withdrawing Huge amount won from a Gambling site.

In my country it is taxable by 20% after meeting a certain range of winnings.  Once the threshold of Php10,000 ($169.88 as for today conversion rate) is exceeded[1], the winnings from gambling activity is then taxed.  Although the Philippine gaming regulator planned to remove the tax, there is no update yet about its progress.

Winnings in gambling activities is considered profit in my country reason for the tax but one shouldn't have to worry about it if in case the person's total gambling activities profit in a year are negative since we all know that profit is something that a person gained after deducting the funds and losses occurs in their year of gambling records.

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[1] https://www.ggrasia.com/pagcor-wants-end-to-tax-on-casino-winnings-report

Gambling is illegal in my country so there is no tax, and because so far I have never won a big amount so I don't know for sure how the gambler from my country who managed to win big how he handled the money, maybe he will still report it but don't say from gambling but it could be from business and so on.
There was talk of taxing the proceeds from gambling, but of course that would affect other regulations where gambling would no longer be illegal so that people would be able to gamble freely but must be prepared to be taxed on the proceeds of their gambling, but this has many contradictions so that gambling remains illegal in my country as far as this, who knows for the future when there is a change in leadership.

In fact, the tax that is usually charged is the gambling owner himself because we as players only play and enjoy gambling and we have also gone through many losses before winning so it is our right to receive 100% of our winnings without any tax deductions, but usually the gambling party It is they themselves who apply rules in their casinos regarding tax fees and so on if we win so that their burden of paying taxes to the government can be reduced and gamblers are forced to bear this even though the profits obtained by gamblers are not greater than their losses but why do they also have to bear the tax?

In my country, gambling winnings are not tax deducted, only a small fee is charged for withdrawals. Even though gambling in my country is actually illegal and may only be done in secret. For me, the person who is obliged to pay tax is the venue provider or casino owner himself, so as players we are not obliged to pay tax because even playing gambling is full of risk of loss.

What you wish for is not going to be possible because we have different individuals thinking differently in the corridor of power in different countries, this is why the tax laws and other laws are not the same. You have a point too, but your points do not particularly have to be that way. In every good environment, I do not see the reason why we should not pay tax on all our incomes, we often do not know the benefits of this, but if you are in a good country where the system is working, please, appreciate it and find all means to support the government and the fellow citizens, especially in the area of taxed.

I said that because I am in a country where the system is not working, we envy you guys. On our part, any reason for us not to even pay the tax will be so welcomed as our government can't account for anything but corruption.

Now, in a country where the government is not asking for a gambling tax, indirectly, you might still be paying it. This is because they tax the casinos/sportsbooks very much, and your losses are included, and since most people are losing, the government is not losing. Either they tax you or they tax the casino/sportsbook, they still have the money. But it is fair to only tax an individual with their gross profits, and not on the immediate ones. This means that if you had lost $100+$100+$100 initially and now gained $400 later, you should be taxed from the excess $100.

Completely agree with OP - it should be tax free but unfortunately for us it is not so because the state like to have a game with us and the name of this game is taxation. They are degenerative gamblers in this respect. Degenerative because instead of giving relief to people they make life harder. They are gambling with us.

Agreeing with your opinion but the main problem is not all countries take gambling in good or easy way and there are also many misconceptions about gambling in many countries. That's is why you will see lots of country ban on gambling so you can't change the rules of those countries. So in case of Australia cannot be compare with USA and Usa rules are more complicated to pass any changes on their laws.

I have the same position. If winnings were taxed, I would definitely stop playing.

And those are the benefits of living outside U.S.A as a gambler where your gambling winning aren't been taxed. Because to me, it's kind of unfair that you will be taxed a certain percentage when you win in his country, but fails to compensate when loses while gambling, as the genuine people that ought to have been taxed are casinos operators or owners, since casinos are businesses which offers essential services with the aim of generating profits. However, base on the tax related issue in U.S, this is likely to be an advantage to Bitcoin, as due to the tax of been tax, many U.S citizens are likely to prefer Bitcoin casinos whose winning are always tax-free.

I believe that no gains should be taxed. You should tax properties and purchases, the way EU has VAT. What people manage to earn should belong to them, especially if the government did not help them to earn that in any way, the way they don't help you get profit from holding cryptocurrencies and don't help you win the lottery. Why in some countries that is taxed 30% or more is beyond my understanding.
The government should be there to make our lives better, right? Not treat us like cash cows.

It does not make sense if the government collect task from gambling wins. If task should be demanded from gambling wins  after playing several games that was lose, that means the gambling company or government needs to compensate for the money lose in gambling so far. Task should be only paid by gambling companies because they are making money and not from gamblers that are playing bets that are unpredictable.
In my country government do not demand task from gamblers win because it doesn't make any sense. If task should be paid when one wins gambling then what is the need of playing when the game is very much unpredictable.

'Cause people legitimize most political acts, when more and more people give legitimacy to it, the more the state will move its tentacles to feed on society. The government is its obligatory silent partner. Hence the need for more and more people to know and use Bitcoin so that little by little they no longer depend on them, at least financially.

If you are gambling in grey areas, obviously even if you won a huge amount, taxing is never their thing. But if you gamble on big and reputable casinos, and you are making big winnings, expect that your winning funds will be immediately lessen since tax is applied, but small winnings are not actually required to be taxed, only those who have exceeded the target amount.

However, when it comes to casinos and all gambling platforms, even if they don't earn enough revenues at that month, paying tax is a must, or else their operation will be immediately stopped.

I find it incredible that in some countries they have to pay taxes on gambling winnings, or worse still that they have to pay to have the right to play in casinos, but I find it even more incredible that in online casinos you have to pay taxes or hand over your winnings to the taxes of a country, I don't know, but I don't agree with that, in fact I could never agree with it, I'm not saying anything about casinos that are centralized, but a cryptographic casino is something else, I consider that absolutely nothing should be charged, of course I speak for the country where I am where the government takes advantage of absolutely everything, it may be that in other countries governments have a different vision towards their people and their citizens and have a different type of culture.

I agree with you, if I will be taxed for gambling, then I'm definitely going to quit because I believe they will not join be in bearing the losses when one comes, like you did mentioned, it's a hobby so why tax a hobby? To me it makes no sense. May country don't task gambling profits as gambling here is seen as a game played for fun so the government don't really have much to do with it, basically, they task the casinos and not the players.

Governments are carrying such large debts that they are looking for any venue they can get some additional cash, and soon enough the countries which do not charge any tax for your gambling profits may change their tune and go after gamblers, after all there are many countries in which any gift you may receive above a certain amount has to be declared as income, something that is completely ridiculous as well, since most people receive gifts on their birthday or another important date, and yet the governments want a cut from that money too, which does not make any sense but it shows you in how much trouble they really are.

Are you kidding me right now? Then gambling taxes in the US are a hell kind of a thing. I know that the US is paying reasonably high taxes but the tax law should have been different as what I read from you is just too government-sided, it is wrong, such a plan is not putting into consideration the feelings of the gamblers and perhaps a means to discourage gambling. But with what is being told of the US, the gambling industry is seriously flourishing, so their discouragement seems not working if that was the case.

If the tax law of any country should be fair, it is the casinos/sportsbooks that should be taxed, after all, they are the ones who have the edge, they are always happy no matter what. In the worst case, if taxes should be extended to the gamblers, I think it should be on the profits alone to make it fair.

I hope they do not tax you guys for your losses too. ;D

Australia's gambling is on point. They consider it a hobby. Smart and easy, it works. Why? Because people gamble for fun. All done. Entertainment, not investing.

The clever aspect is that they stop the government from taking your earnings. Australia has no gambling winnings tax. So much trust in the people. "You won? Great! Manage your money." Simple tax forms, no hassle, just pure winnings.

Know what? Approach makes sense. Its more than having fun. Honouring their brains and self-control. Personal responsibility is needed more today. Treating people like adults makes them act like grownups. This is for Australia. You realize gambling is fun, not luck. You've respected personal freedom and finances. Your gambling environment is healthier and more fun.

Your government may not need additional taxes so they prefer not to tax its people because the Australian economy is robust, but other countries are not that robust they need additional funding so instead of resorting to borrowing from local and international banks they prefer to tax the gambling sector.
I have seen how taxing the gambling sectors can do to one's economy because I'm living in a country where so many things are being taxed, and gambling is one of these.
Our country takes 20% of the cut in the winners' winning besides different taxes within the gambling sector, our government is good at collecting these taxes.

I mean personally speaking, it doesn't make sense for gambling to be taxed in the first place. You don't always win for instance, so when you gamble you're out there wasting money already, which goes straight towards taxes via VAT and other types of bs, and you're telling me that soon as I win, which is astronomically low in chances by the way, I still have to pay these schmucks? That's just not fair lol. But then again, when you're winning millions of dollars in a single roll which is often common in games like the lottery, it kind of makes sense for the government to tax it, you're looking at millions of dollars in taxes, which will be taxed to you anyways as soon as it is declared part of your property. So yeah, in a sense all of this shit feels a little nuanced to really pick a side, but of course, being a consumer it's a no-brainer choosing the side where I don't get taxed for my wins lol.

Why not make tax minimal in these types of scenario and let the person enjoy their winnings without the IRS or whatever tax collection agency there is up on their asses asking for the payment? I think that'll work well for everyone cause you're still getting taxed, and you're able to enjoy their winning and make the most out of it per se.

This isn't totally true, there's no time that not tasking winning is going to be a loop hole for laundering, one of the measures most gambling sites have deployed to check for laundering is in the aspect of making sure to wager almost all deposit and so it's difficult to claim laundry on a win in most cases except in situations where the casino may be directly involved then there may be manipulations to claims of wins even when there was Never any in the initial but for a very credible casino where a proper investigation can be done into the wins, the chances of laundry becomes very slim and close to impossible as the casino having their reputation held high, they wouldn't be willing to allowing such go through their casino without it been treated s it should be involving the authorities. Winnings can not be seen to be a laundering means especially for sports games where the casinos have got almost no control over what ever it is that happens with such.

This is possible to do at online casinos, but at psychical casinos this is not really possible, still I find the explanation about those taxes being a form to stop money laundering as not believable, as someone that is doing so with that intent is without a doubt willing to take a loss in order to make that money seem legitimate, besides once a person reached a high enough amount of money, they could start their own casino and do this more efficiently, which is exactly why modern physical casinos were created on the first place.

Taxation of gambling winning is most seriously in few countries and sometimes in some regions, the government does not have the tools to specify who is really paying tax and who does not pay. There are so many ways people are diverting taxation up to now and it is very difficult to track. Gambling winning has nothing to do with taxation on a norms but in some countries, the government would want to get there feet on every corners to know how is paying and who is not paying. Even in physical casinos, gamblers are still paying there tax when it comes to winnings that is why it will be very difficult not to pay tax on every winnings.

Damn, is your country the same as mine?

Recently, a country very famous for its high taxes (brazil), the discussion about means of applying taxes has been increasingly frequent, even talking about 'sin tax' for games of chance, with the excuse of discouraging gambling sector. But they will continue to collect, the government doesn't care about collective health, so this is just an excuse for them to give the population to justify this high tax rate.

I agree with this.Most governments do not care at all about the health of the population,in Albania in 2019 were applied the same rule going on Brazil now,guess what it appeared to be beneficial to the people and then immediately made a boom of illegal gambling activities popping up in every single coffee shop or better ex lotto shop who were turned into coffee shops.The owners were smart,they used VPN-s to access bet365 or alike websites and they deposited quite a lot of money of their own there for their balance and kept playing for people,they took 10 dollar from a guy who wanted to place a bet on a multi triple ticket for example,Brazil,Netherlands and Argentina to win their games,if he won the money was kept in the owner account of bet365 and the owner manually paid cash to the player,the government was totally out of the equation,so much out that they now in 2023-2024 legalized again more than the biggest casinos and now everything is going back almost to like it was before 2019,it does not work like this,gamblers always find a way  ;D.

The political class is continuously seeking for raising taxes and creating new tributes, because they are greedy and avid for more benefits for the class they belong. And in order to benefit themselves, they also have to benefit the members of judiciary system, because the parliament votes the wages of the judiciary, and the judiciary votes the wages of the parliamentarians. 'One good turn deserves another' and who pays the waste of money is the average citizen, after all.

Add this to the fact inflation is nuking purchasing power in Brazil. To do so, the political elites have to adjust their wages considering the loss on Real's consumption power, so they aren't affected by inflation like the rest of the common citizens are. The gambling tax is just a drop in the ocean of the abusive ideas brazilian leaders have to "gift" their population with.

Anyway, people deserve it, because if the system works the way it does, it's because this same people went for that. Political idolatry is strong and the most shady actors of the national scenario become sudden heroes in the subverted eyes of the population who is constantly looking for a fake messiah to raise as their savior.

If a country charge 20% tax from a winner, the I think the country is a wikced country, who is gong to pay for the losses I had all this while? No, this is bad to be honest. Perhaps the country is trying to discourage people from gambling, this is why they set the standard that high so that whenever people think of gambling and also think  of the money tax they are going to pay, they will say it is not worth it and the wouldn't even bother their self trying to win 80% again because this is nothing but clear ripping of citizens.

If a gambling is to be taxed in my opinion, the tax should not comes from the people, it should come from the casino that offer gambling games because people are losing millions to them, why not ask the money from them instead of making everyone to pay money. So.mow. The government/leaders of that country will be making money from license casinos and everyone that gambles, that's a great way to increase an IGR.

That percentage is too big to be collected as tax from the government. Why not just them give you some money to help them play the game and keep the winnings to themselves. This is ridiculous and any country charging that much from their citizens is just showing how capitalist they are and it is also a big sign of being strict with your  belongings and not ending if for the government to take that large amount of money into their custody for your big wins which does not come very often. There is no explaining that can justify this overzealous price paid by them and it’ll be just be them been greedy and selfish of not taken what we can as well see as normal or just at an amount that is considered just beyond average.

20% tax is bigger than the house edge, LOL. We can't even win with the house edge of 1%, and now we have to pay 20% on our winnings. That's literally the definition of losing in the long run, where our money just goes to the government. Just imagine, the government collects taxes from gambling operators and also from the gamblers, which is like double income on their side.

The ones truly affected here are the gamblers, especially if we constantly gamble and sometimes win big. 20% of that goes to the government instead of being used to enjoy and keep the balance for future gambling activities. I'm just lucky I belong to a country that doesn't tax gambling, so I can fully enjoy gambling. Although I have to say I'm not winning, at least I don't feel disappointed when I win because I don't have to pay the tax, which is compulsory.

I just found Gambling is not taxable income in Australia which is good.

Regarding taxation of winnings on bets is not unfair unless the government decides to take more in the name of tax than the actual user like over 50% which is unreasonable and anyone will try to evade this because it doesn't worth the risk.

In most countries the tax rate differs and we can't really do much about it cause it's their authority to make whatever regulations needed to generate revenues.

Do you mean gamblign winnings from bettors? Because in general gambling is not taxable, then that means gambling is not legal in a country.


I don't see a government that tax 50% of the gambling winnings. I think that's unreasonable and that will only discourage gamblers from complying to the taxation law, and with that it will increase the illegal gambling which will result to a significant decrease of the taxes collected to the winning gamblers. So this is a recipe for losses on the government side and they'll not make this stupid law.

Not necessarily it makes it illegal, it's upto the government to charge taxes or not as well as make it as legal or not in this case Australia made gambling is legal but no need to pay any tax.

I am not sure is there is any catch in that but I did some research regarding Australia gambling taxation so far they made it's non taxable event.

Here in my country I think we don't have something as a gambling tax on the winners of lottery or those who manage to get lucky at the local casino. And I agree with you, gambling should not be taxed, because those earnings are purely gotten by chance and not by any regular commercial activity or business. the United States is one of those countries in which people get taxed by almost any income they get which could be perceived as unfair, in the case of gambling, I believe it is indeed unfair.
Also, it would not have any important impact on the macroeconomics of the nation if they decided to let lucky gamblers alone, the percentage of money gotten by taxing gamblers is relatively small when compared to the outstanding national debt they have to pay to lenders.

Tasking gambling winnings sounds like tasking charity, well my comparison may not make absolute sense at a glance but literally gambling isn't something that should be considered a job or a source of income so it really do sound weird taxing someone on their luck. The casinos can be tasked because they generates revenue and as a matter of fact, they even employ and pay some staffs so it's an established business who's customers come around only to depend on luck to get some profits, gambling winnings shouldn't be tasked as some persons literally made multiple trials before they won one,so tasking them will mean still putting the gamblers at losses and increasing their  chances of becoming a problem to the society.