A bill proposed in Peru seeks to raise the selective consumption tax (ISC) on online bets from 1% to 5% of each wager, citing concerns over problem gambling and the need to increase tax revenue.
Proposed by the parliamentary group of the Civic Works Party, the measure would apply exclusively to online betting, leaving land-based gambling unaffected.
The proposed ISC would remain separate from the existing 12% gaming tax levied on the gross gaming revenue (GGR) of remote gaming and sports betting operators. The 5% rate would apply regardless of whether an operator is incorporated in Peru or abroad.
If approved, the law would take effect the day after its publication in El Peruano, Peru’s official daily newspaper. The higher tax rate would apply from the first day of the following calendar month.
Peru launched its regulated online gambling market in February 2024, attracting international operators including Stake, Rush Street Interactive and Betsson, which all obtained licences to operate in the country.
However, the introduction of the 1% ISC on 1 July 2025 added to the tax burden facing the sector. The original plan to introduce a consumption tax had been dropped before the market opened but was proposed again in 2024.
The newly proposed increase is intended to address concerns about the public health impact of digital betting and generate additional government revenue.
The bill cited figures from the Ministry of Health showing that 14,409 cases of gambling addiction treatment were recorded at health facilities nationwide in 2025.
“The measure can contribute to a comprehensive policy for preventing problem gambling by increasing the specific tax burden on the activity,” the bill reads. “The expected benefit is not to position the tax as a solution to gambling addiction, but rather to incorporate an additional fiscal instrument into a broader set of measures covering prevention, regulation, oversight and care.”
The proposal also identified revenue generation as a purpose of the ISC, while clarifying that it is not intended to prohibit online betting.
“Instead, it seeks to moderately raise the tax burden associated with the activity within a market that remains subject to authorisation and regulation,” the bill stated. “The measure is conceived as a complementary prevention tool rather than a sole response to problem gambling.”
At the current 1% rate, the ISC generates approximately S/324 million ($94.1 million) annually. Raising the rate to 5% could increase annual collections to S/1.62 billion, according to the bill. However, the proposal described the projection as a “static, illustrative scenario.”
The bill referenced other Latin American markets that impose additional taxes on online betting operators. In Argentina, operators pay an indirect tax on online betting ranging from 2.5% to 15%. Colombia, meanwhile, imposes a 16% value-added tax on GGR for online operators.
Against this backdrop, the bill argued that a 5% ISC rate in Peru “does not, in itself, constitute an extraordinary rate within the regional context.”
The proposed increase could affect both operators and bettors, although the extent of the impact would depend on how companies respond to the higher tax.
Operators could absorb the higher tax, pass some or all of the cost on to bettors through changes to betting conditions, or share the additional expense between both parties, the bill said.
In Colombia, some operators have sought to offset the impact of the additional tax on bettors by offering bonuses to compensate for its effect.
