Colombia Launches Technical Talks on Bill 477/2026C to Apply 19% VAT to Online Gambling Deposits

Colombia's government and Congress have started technical talks on a tax bill that would apply 19% VAT to online gambling deposits.

The working groups began on 10 November after an agreement reached at a meeting in Barranquilla on 7 November between the government and members of Congress’s economic committees. The talks address Bill 477/2026C, known as the Economic Rescue Bill, submitted by Finance Minister Miguel Gómez Martínez on 29 October. The bill seeks to stabilise public finances via spending cuts and new taxes and carries urgent status, requiring joint debate by the economic committees of both chambers.

The joint committees are expected to debate the bill in the last week of November. The government has until 16 December to secure approval in the current session. Senate committees have named rapporteurs for the first debate: Conservative senator David Barguil on the Third Committee and Carlos Mario Farelo of Cambio Radical on the Fourth.

Provisions of the Proposed Tax Measures

Article 41 would remove the VAT exclusion for games operated only online and apply the standard 19% rate. The taxable base would be the player’s deposit, including cash, bank transfers and cryptoassets, divided by 1.19. That means a COP119,000 ($35.98) deposit would include COP19,000 in VAT. Operators would be liable for the tax – even if they are based abroad – when players are tax residents, domiciled or doing business in Colombia.

The same article would double the monthly taxable bases for land-based gambling. Slot machines would rise from 20 to 40 tax value units (UVT), gaming tables from 290 to 580 UVT and bingo from three to six UVT per seat. Lotteries would stay exempt. Article 52 would raise the occasional gains tax on prizes from lotteries, raffles and betting from 20% to 30%.

Industry Reactions and Recent Tax History

The Colombian Federation of Gambling Entrepreneurs (Fecoljuegos) is preparing an alternative tax proposal for the Ministry of Finance and Congress. It represents manufacturers, suppliers and operators of casinos, bingo halls and online platforms. Its members include Betsson Group, Codere, Wplay and Betano.

Federation president Evert Montero said the industry was willing to help. “We understand the need to contribute to the stability of public finances and remain willing to contribute,” Montero told La FM. “Online and land-based games have different structures, but both face obligations and costs that must be recognised.” He added: “Protecting investment and employment also means protecting a source of funding for health.”

Colombia first applied 19% VAT to online gambling deposits by emergency decree in February 2025. The tax expired at the end of that year after a Senate committee rejected a bill to make it permanent. Decree 1474 of December 2025 reapplied the 19% VAT on gross gaming revenue (GGR) for 2026. The Constitutional Court suspended it in January and struck it down in April 2026. A separate 16% consumption tax on online GGR, introduced by emergency decree in March, remains in force until 31 December 2026. As reported by iGaming Business, the current talks reflect ongoing efforts to address the sector's fiscal contribution.