If capitals do not agree on new revenue streams, the next seven-year EU budget risks being smaller
MEPs and Piotr Serafin, the EU’s budget commissioner, will discuss on Wednesday evening in Strasbourg a possible new tax on online gambling and betting that could help fund the bloc’s proposed €2 trillion long-term budget.
The discussion comes as pressure is mounting on capitals to agree on new EU-wide revenue streams to finance the next priorities while repaying Covid-era debt.
“The online gambling market is one of the fastest-growing digital industries, generating dozens of billions of euros, yet a significant share of these profits escapes fair taxation,” said Victor Negrescu, who made the initial proposal and is a socialist member of Parliament’s budget committee.
He added that an EU-wide tax on online gambling and betting could generate between €2 and € 4 billion annually, or as much as €28 billion over the seven-year budget cycle. Taxation of the sector currently varies widely across member states.
