The European Union is seeking new sources of revenue to fund the community budget between 2028 and 2034, and is considering the possibility of creating a tax on online betting, with which it expects to raise up to 1,900 million euros annually.
The measures are part of the negotiations over the Union’s budget, which also include other levies such as climate tariffs or taxes on digital multinationals and crypto-assets.
Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, has acknowledged the need to speed up work on new own resources in order to reach a budgetary agreement before the end of the year.
Although these are projects still under study, the inclusion of online betting among the proposals on the table opens up a debate within the sector. Malta is expected to categorically oppose any attempt to impose a greater tax burden on a sector that is especially important to the country’s economy.
It is worth remembering that on July 1 Ireland takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union with two major challenges: negotiating the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which will govern the community accounts from 2028 onwards, and taking concrete steps towards a historic enlargement beyond the Twenty-Seven.