Greece Defends July Tax Increase on Online Casino Winnings as Revenues Climb
Greece upholds its July tax hike on online casino winnings, lifting rates from 15-20% to 20-30%. Withholding taxes rose 27.3% to €369m in Jan-Aug 2026 while GGR grew 4.2%. Officials say elasticity was modelled and enforcement is being expanded to limit black-market leakage.
SCCG Take — Regulators are pairing elevated player taxes with sharper enforcement tools. Licensed operators face higher fiscal extraction but gain from reduced illicit competition if blocking and sanctions prove effective.
Greece’s Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis has defended the decision to raise taxes on online casino winnings, describing it as a route to generate additional funds for public services.
Figures published in October show taxes withheld from gambling winnings reached €369m (£307m) from January to August 2026, a 27.3% rise on the prior €290m. Total gross gaming revenue climbed 4.2% to €2.06bn, with state receipts from operators up 7.9% to €484.5m. These totals encompass the full gambling market and do not separate the effects of the July tax change.
The increase, applied from 1 July, lifted the rate on winnings of €100–500 from 15% to 20% and on amounts above €500 from 20% to 30%. Winnings up to €100 remain untaxed. Pierrakakis first outlined the policy on 23 March, projecting it would add about €100m a year to public revenue to help offset rising energy costs for households and businesses.
Government Assessment of Black Market Risks
Deputy Finance Minister Thanos Petralias stated that rapid growth in online casino and poker activity justified a larger state contribution from the sector. Petralias added that this could form a permanent budget revenue source and that allocating a bigger public share of market expansion was socially fair, with proceeds returned to citizens.
On the question of whether higher rates might push players toward unlicensed sites, Petralias said projections had incorporated demand elasticity and operator data. He cited new legislation targeting illegal gambling as a direct countermeasure.
Bolstering Enforcement Capacity
The tax revision sits within a wider effort to strengthen the Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC). An October recruitment sought 40 seconded staff, including seven IT specialists, to improve oversight of digital gambling. The changes expand website blocking, investigative authority and sanctions.
Administrative fines can reach €2m per infringement, with prison terms of at least ten years for specified offences. The HGC estimates total state gambling revenue at €1.17bn for 2025, comprising €737m online and €433m land-based. Pierrakakis told the Commission that illegal activity diverts money from the state and from compliant operators, requiring adequate personnel, technology and legal backing.
As reported by SBC News, the Greek government therefore pairs higher taxation with visible enforcement upgrades to preserve the regulated market’s fiscal contribution.
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