Do we all know the tax rules on gambling winnings in our country?

[acroman08]

What do you think, should gambling winnings be taxed, or should this kind of tax be abolished and the government should collect more from casino operators instead?

Personally, I think they should only tax the casino operators and leave player's gambling winnings alone. But we all know that's not gonna happen in a lot of countries, so if they are going to tax winnings, they at least should be reasonable about it. Anyway, in my country the government put 20% tax on gambling winnings, but only gambling winnings above 10K php, so if your winnings is below 10k, it won't be taxed.

[o48o]

Are you familiar with taxes on gambling winnings? One reason why the government wants players to use regulated casinos is not only because they can tax the casino operators, but also because they can tax the winnings of players.

But do you think this is really reasonable?

For me, it feels complicated and unfair in some way because most gamblers are already losing in the long run, then once they get lucky and win big one time, the government still wants a share from that win. It is like we are expected to keep records of our wins and make sure the right tax is paid, and if we miss it or fail to comply, we could be at risk of penalties or legal trouble.

I understand that the government needs revenue and regulation is better than illegal gambling, but should the burden really be on the gamblers too? Since casinos and gambling operators are already earning from players, maybe it would be better if the government just increased the taxes on operators instead of taxing player winnings directly.

What do you think, should gambling winnings be taxed, or should this kind of tax be abolished and the government should collect more from casino operators instead?

Casinos choose places where they operate for 2 reasons. Less taxes and loose gambling regulations.

Countries can't tax companies in other countries, but i guess they could force tariffs for those products. If somehow all countries could be force casinos to "pay taxes" to them, this would just mean that casinos would cut your winnings and pay your wins as "after taxes and accounting fee", instead of the total amount.

Just keeping track of your accounting is just easier for you, and it's a good skill to handle, because gambling taxation isn't even hard compared to other taxation. Like being an artist, or crypto trading, as that's still in many ways in prototype phase and rules are changing all the time.

[BALIK]

Are you familiar with taxes on gambling winnings? One reason why the government wants players to use regulated casinos is not only because they can tax the casino operators, but also because they can tax the winnings of players.
But do you think this is really reasonable?
For me, it feels complicated and unfair in some way because most gamblers are already losing in the long run, then once they get lucky and win big one time, the government still wants a share from that win. It is like we are expected to keep records of our wins and make sure the right tax is paid, and if we miss it or fail to comply, we could be at risk of penalties or legal trouble.
I understand that the government needs revenue and regulation is better than illegal gambling, but should the burden really be on the gamblers too? Since casinos and gambling operators are already earning from players, maybe it would be better if the government just increased the taxes on operators instead of taxing player winnings directly.

What do you think, should gambling winnings be taxed, or should this kind of tax be abolished and the government should collect more from casino operators instead?

It's hard enough to win in a casino, landbased or online, so we shouldn't feel the squeeze at the taxman too IMO. Problem is, if they tax the casinos we are still going to be the ones feeling the squeeze from the taxman as the casino will change the house edge to compensate for increase to them. No matter what, the gambler is fucked.

Philippines does tax gambling winnings too though the details differ a bit from US system.

The situation is such that we are already losing money and government is kicking us in the nuts. Most of us are no longer running professional businesses. We are just trying to have some fun or chase a big win. Keeping detailed records, tickets and statements for every session for govt is a huge hassle, and missing it can lead to an audit or fine. It just adds to the stress and complexity for the average person.

I am not saying that all taxes on winnings should be removed at once. But it would be better if, without putting pressure on player, the pressure on operators could be increased through smart taxe app while at the same time protecting the incentives or privileges of the players.

[EluguHcman]

Are you familiar with taxes on gambling winnings? One reason why the government wants players to use regulated casinos is not only because they can tax the casino operators, but also because they can tax the winnings of players.

But do you think this is really reasonable?

This discussion seems another version of the one I made here few weeks ago which says Bettors: the Cash Cow for authorities & Investors in the industry.
According to my observation gamblers are bound to be the fund raisers for the casinos to to pay their taxes through the money the casinos generates from them either from their lost bets or seized funds over the platforms terms violations.

As a matter of fact, licensed casinos are being  regulated by the authorities, so also some of the authorities requires gamblers to pay taxes of their winnings. Same time, the authorities do still have percentage from every seized funds of the casinos from the gamblers.
So, gamblers are mostly at the Utmost risks of loosing more than the investors in the casinos.

[Samlucky O]

What do you think, should gambling winnings be taxed, or should this kind of tax be abolished and the government should collect more from casino operators instead?

I think we have discussed this before somewhere here in this forum, although we might have our own suggestions but the truth is that our own suggestions does not beat government decisions otherwise government should have taxed only Casino owners instead of gambler that won. The gamblers are already losing a lot to the casino, and hence this casino owners are making enough money because of house edge, so there is no good reason why the gamblers who have been losing should be taxed neither do they need to be taxed when they win. It is just unfortunate that the gambler are the ones losing More. I suggest that that tax should be abolished and government should collect more from casino operators since they are more advantageous.

[Alpha Marine]

In my country, the licensed betting or casino companies are supposed to take 5% of your winnings as the tax. It's a net winning tax, meaning the 5% wil come from only your winning and not the total. Your stake will be deducted, then 5% will be taken from whatever amount you win.
Even though the law has been made, I don't think it's been enforced, because I have always gotten my full potential win whenever I win in a local licensed casino. Or it could be that there is a certain amount the law applies to, and I haven't won up to that amount yet.

What do you think, should gambling winnings be taxed, or should this kind of tax be abolished and the government should collect more from casino operators instead?

I don't think it's cruel to be taxed. It's the same with business. I can do different business and lose money, but the moment I make a profit, I am expected to pay taxes on my profit. So the fact that gamblers lose a lot isn't a justifiable reason to abolish taxes on gambling winnings.
However, I feel the 5% is too much. I think it should be between 1% and 3%, depending on the amount, rather than a flat rate of 5%.

[LGD2Business]

Yes, I know how much of what you win from gambling is tax-exempt and how much is taxable. Figuring out how much tax you need to pay isn't usually something you have to worry about, because the tax is withheld at the source. No matter which site you play on, when you win the tax is automatically deducted and your winnings are credited to your account. There's no need to worry too much about this. Since illegal gambling is a crime in and of itself, there's no need to even consider the tax issue.
The government won't stand by you when you lose, but it will immediately claim its share of your winnings.

[alastantiger]

As far as I know, several countries have implemented regulations that impose taxes on winnings. I know of lottery gambling, but I don't know about casino games. But honestly, it feels unfair to players if their winnings are still taxed, because if they lose, there's no compensation. The government should already receive enough taxes from casinos.

You are right but the government are greedy hence they won't hesitate to tax gamblers that win even when they know that this gamblers has no profit despite their winning because they must have probably lost a lot of money already. I also think the casino's should be the one being taxed as gamblers have lost so much already so you taxing them for their win is not fair on them. Lottery winners win big sum of money while staking very small amount of money so their tax is justifiable because even after the tax they still have a lot of money left for them but the same cannot be said about casino bet hence it is unfair when they get taxed.

[Orpichukwu]

Whether you want such tax to be abolished or not, it will not unless the government decides on their own not to tax players again, because they were the ones that decided to tax winning. 

In a country where the people’s voices are heard and recognised, if they are not comfortable with the gambling tax law, they can take the matter to the upper table through the right means, and something can be done about it if there are upper hands backing it up and debatable facts.

In my country, I think the tax is 5% and the bookie or casino will automatically dedicate the withholding tax from players win before the person cash out. The debate about whether players win should be tax on or not has been discussed on this board a couple of time, you can search for previous related topics.

I have not really seen this new tax law reflecting on casinos that I make use of since my winnings are being paid in full and no deductions have ever been made that I observe.

And for the percentage the new tax law approved, they approved a 5% tax on profit made from gambling by citizens and 15% on non-resident players, but the staked amount is not taxable, which means you deduct the amount used in staking first before calculating the tax percentage based on the profit.

What Nigeria’s Tax Act 2025 Means for the Gaming Industry’s Bottom Line

[qwertyup23]

Are you familiar with taxes on gambling winnings? One reason why the government wants players to use regulated casinos is not only because they can tax the casino operators, but also because they can tax the winnings of players.

But do you think this is really reasonable?

I am not that familiar regarding the specific taxing mechanism/rate in the Philippines but I do think it can be reasonable depending on the circumstances.

The reason for the tax is for regulation, control, and revenue. Given that gambling is responsible for generating the one of the highest revenue in the country (generated $6.4 million gross revenue last 2025)¹, it is just equally as important for the government to realize upon the taxes ultimately for the benefit of the country.

Mind you that the taxes generated from gambling would be responsible for different projects created by the government, including but not limited to:

• Infrastructure projects;
• Future plans for investments; and
• Regulation and maintenance of other relevant sectors of the government.

While you may seem to think that it can be complicated and unfair to gamblers because of the loss that you receive, this is nothing but normal for us to understand. Without any taxes from this sector, ultimately the country would be prejudiced by this and gambling establishments can abuse their position as a whole.


1 https://www.pagcor.ph/headlines/ph-gross-gaming-revenues-up-6.39percent-to-php396.14b-in-2025.html

[Grace333]

I dont think gamble is a good place to tax her citizens, though i understand that some gamblers can hit the jackpot and that must have triggered greed in the mind of the government to partake in sharing that fund and the only solution they could come up with is tax. It's actually not a good place to tax anyone, because they aren't concerned about the protection of the citizens or how rigged some casinos are yet they want to be interested on the profit made that's literally gold digging.

[Bitcoin.com97]

What do you think, should gambling winnings be taxed, or should this kind of tax be abolished and the government should collect more from casino operators instead?

The governments are looking for just little opportunities that they can use to tax people which is very wrong. Gamblers supposed not to be taxed, only the gambling sites and gambling platforms supposed to be taxed. Only few countries like Canada and Australia are doing good for not taxing gamblers.

Exactly,this is so correct,they always look for a way to extort from people,they really do not care about people and which is very wrong ,why taxing gamblers while it takes some persons a lot of months for some to win , those gambling site are supposed to be taxed because they profit more and should be the one to pay for taxes instead collecting tax from peoples winning.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

You ask so many questions that you might as well have asked 57 more whilst you were at it.

Are you familiar with taxes on gambling winnings?

Yes

One reason why the government wants players to use regulated casinos is not only because they can tax the casino operators, but also because they can tax the winnings of players.

But do you think this is really reasonable?

Somewhat reasonable. I'd prefer lower taxes.

What do you think, should gambling winnings be taxed, or should this kind of tax be abolished and the government should collect more from casino operators instead?

At first glance, I’d prefer the latter, but it doesn’t matter because if the government were to increase the taxes it levies on casinos to make up for the taxes it wouldn’t be charging us, the casinos would pass those costs on to us, so we’d end up in the same position. They’d raise the house edge, run fewer promotions, and so on.

[Pi-network314159]

What do you think, should gambling winnings be taxed, or should this kind of tax be abolished and the government should collect more from casino operators instead?

Definitely there is no two ways about it, government should tax the casino operators and not tax the gambler. Gamblers are losers while casino operators are the ones wining, so the most profitable person should be concentrated than taxing the gambler. When I am exphasising on Gamblers, I mean both the winners and the losers, both should be left behind because it takes several loses to secure 1 win. Government should just avoid gamblers and focus on casino operators, that's my own take on this Matter.

[Dave1]

What do you think, should gambling winnings be taxed, or should this kind of tax be abolished and the government should collect more from casino operators instead?

As far as I know, our country has just introduce tax on gambling winnings. But not sure if gamblers are really filing their tax in a rightful way as there could be loopholes with it. Specially if you are playing online, there's no way that the government can track everything.

So I will admit that I'm not filing any and besides, even winnings in land base casinos are not being taxed. And the burden should be in the casino itself not to the gamblers. If this is going to be strictly implemented, then maybe gamblers might hide their winnings because admit it or not, we don't want to pay it. Specially if you lived in a country wherein corruption is rampant and taxes are being pocketed by this corrupt officials.

[Nrcewker]

Are you familiar with taxes on gambling winnings? One reason why the government wants players to use regulated casinos is not only because they can tax the casino operators, but also because they can tax the winnings of players.

I think all taxpayers in their respective countries have known about this for a long time. If we talk about my country, there are two types of taxes imposed, one on gambling winnings and another on winnings from TV reality shows. You will be shocked to know that a flat 30% tax is levied on these winnings.

I believe this is one of the reasons many gamblers prefer unregulated casinos. However, these casinos often have trust issues, and they can disappear with your money at any time. As a result, many experienced gamblers have shifted to online crypto casinos. They prefer no-KYC casinos, which they believe help them save a significant amount on taxes.

If the tax rate were more reasonable, people would be much more willing to pay it. But a flat 30% tax is simply broad day light robbery.

[Yablee0]

Definitely there is no two ways about it, government should tax the casino operators and not tax the gambler. Gamblers are losers while casino operators are the ones wining, so the most profitable person should be concentrated than taxing the gambler.

Well spoken my brother. No twisted words around it, you just said it as it is. Is not making sense to me for them to be taxing someone that barely win, someone that only win by chance and be ignoring people that wins almost every day which are the casinos. The gambling platforms are in a better position of being taxed by the government and not the players that barely win, let it not be as if they're adding up to our injuries.

[bhadz]

It is reasonable and I've got an idea of it when there are public lotteries that are sponsored and advertised on television. And if they say that it's tax-free then that's it and the winner takes all. But if there's no note like that then it's likely to get taxed and the winner will receive a deducted amount. In our country, the PAGCOR has been helping a lot of people with their hospital bills and it all comes from the taxes in gambling. So, I think if we're seeing the help to our countrymen then that's just fine and it's a little return to the government and people who are in need.

[Localhostspeed]

For me, it feels complicated and unfair in some way because most gamblers are already losing in the long run, then once they get lucky and win big one time, the government still wants a share from that win. It is like we are expected to keep records of our wins and make sure the right tax is paid, and if we miss it or fail to comply, we could be at risk of penalties or legal trouble.

I understand that the government needs revenue and regulation is better than illegal gambling, but should the burden really be on the gamblers too? Since casinos and gambling operators are already earning from players, maybe it would be better if the government just increased the taxes on operators instead of taxing player winnings directly.

What do you think, should gambling winnings be taxed, or should this kind of tax be abolished and the government should collect more from casino operators instead?

NY country has tried this before but it failed reason is you can't tax people when you refused to do the need of the people. Over here, plenty of people see gambling as a second side hustle to make money and the reason they are doing that it's because there is not adequate job for people that is why they are resorting to gambling instead going to their normal day job, so it's improper for the government to want to tax people that are just trying to survive.

Gambling isn't guaranteed unlike investment that you will have some chance of making money. It doesn't work that way when it comes to gambling, infact your chance of losing it is 99%, so why would a government want to tax gambling. In all ways, it doesn't make make any sense for the governments to want to tax people on what is not assured even if the government is doing everything for the people to make a better living.

[Free Market Capitalist]

Are you familiar with taxes on gambling winnings?

Of course I am familiar, and not just gambling taxes, but all the taxes that affect me, as well as tax breaks.

As for whether it's reasonable or whether winners should be taxed, well, it depends. I believe the best way for states to operate is with low taxes, and indirect taxes are even better. So, in principle, I don’t mind if winnings are taxed as long as income tax is very low in return. The problem is that what usually happens is the opposite: states just want to tax more and more, so they raise income tax, taxes on winnings, and every other tax they can.