Europe debates online gambling levy to fund education

• Victor Negrescu, Vice-President of the European Parliament, has called for a harmonised EU-wide levy on online gambling profits to fund education and youth policies.
• The proposal, aired at the European Parliament plenary session on 17 February 2026, could generate between €2bn and €4bn annually, rising to €28bn across a full EU budget cycle.
• The European Gaming and Betting Association has rejected the plan outright, warning it would expand the black market and harm consumer protection.

A proposal for a unified EU tax on online gambling is dividing opinion across Brussels and the wider iGaming industry.

Victor Negrescu, Vice-President of the European Parliament and a member of Romania’s Social Democratic Party, used a series of addresses to MEPs in February 2026 to argue for a pan-European levy on online betting and gaming operators.

The initiative has immediately drawn a firm rebuttal from the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), which represents the leading licensed operators across 21 EU countries.

A proposal rooted in budget pressure

Negrescu used a plenary address in Brussels on 17 February to reiterate his support for an EU-level iGaming tax as part of broader budget reform discussions. The proposal is framed as an alternative to measures that would place a direct burden on national budgets or individual taxpayers.

Victor Negrescu, Vice-President of the European Parliament, stated:

“Today, the online gambling market is one of the fastest growing digital industries, generating dozens of billions of Euros, yet the significant share of these profits escapes fair taxation. My proposal is simple and responsible – a European levy on the online gambling and betting industry, applied equally to the already existing national turnover taxes, while fighting for a clear EU directive against illegal unlicensed platforms,” Negrescu said.

It is important to note that the exact tax base for any such levy, whether applied to gross gaming revenue (GGR), net profits, or turnover, has not yet been defined. Negrescu’s own public remarks refer broadly to gambling and betting “profits” and “turnover taxes,” and no settled model has been presented.

What has been quantified is the potential scale. Negrescu has cited European Parliament research suggesting the sector generated approximately €130bn in revenue in 2022, with current volumes potentially approaching €200bn on an annual growth trend of around 5%.

Even a 1% EU levy, he argues, could generate tens of billions of euros for the EU budget over time, with annual estimates ranging from €2bn to €4bn and up to €28bn across a full EU budget cycle.

Two arguments underpin the initiative. First, the EU budget is considered insufficient to address current and future policy priorities, particularly in education and skills development. Second, national gambling tax regimes vary too widely to support a fair or efficient system.

The Vice-President noted that effective tax rates across Member States range from approximately 5% in some jurisdictions to nearly 40% in others, a disparity he argues distorts competition and pushes parts of the industry towards lower-tax countries.

Industry pushes back hard

The proposal has drawn swift and pointed opposition from the Brussels-based EGBA, whose latest sustainability report notes that member operators paid around €3.8bn in corporate and gaming tax to European governments during 2024.

Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of the EGBA, declared: 

“Such a proposal is fundamentally unworkable – gambling is not harmonised at EU level, and there is no legal basis or mechanism to collect such a levy.

Even so, adding yet another tax to online gambling operators licensed in the EU – who already operate in a heavily taxed and highly regulated environment – would only benefit illegal operators who pay no tax,” Haijer said.

Haijer further warned of market integrity consequences.

“Because they pay no tax, illegal operators can offer players more attractive products and prices but without any of the essential consumer safeguards that licensed operators provide.” he added.

The EGBA and wider industry observers have pointed to recent national examples to support their position.

In the Netherlands, higher tax brackets introduced last year were intended to increase Treasury revenues. According to EGBA and industry analysis, the outcome was a reduction in gross gaming revenues and continued black market growth.

Similarly, Germany’s approach of applying taxes to player wagers has, in the view of trade and regulatory analysts, contributed to one of the weakest channelisation rates in Europe.

Legal and structural obstacles

Beyond the industry reaction, legal analysts point to significant institutional hurdles. Expert Giulio Coraggio noted in a February 2026 analysis that the European Parliament does not have autonomous taxation powers, and that any EU iGaming tax would require unanimity among all 27 Member States.

That threshold is high. Countries with significant iGaming sectors, such as Malta and other low-tax jurisdictions within the EU, retain the power to block any such measure. The proposal also leaves open a series of structural questions: whether the EU levy would be deductible at national level, what the precise taxable base would be, and how enforcement would be administered — whether centrally or delegated to national authorities.

Negrescu has indicated that the proposed levy would complement, not replace, domestic frameworks on gambling law. He has emphasised respect for the individual autonomy of Member States, which would retain the right to set their own gambling laws and national tax regimes. No formal legislative text or implementation timeline has yet been published.

A shifting fiscal landscape

The proposal does not exist in isolation. Across the EU, several Member States have moved to increase gambling tax rates in recent years.

The Netherlands raised its gambling tax from 30.5% to 34.2% of gross gaming revenue. Sweden increased its GGR tax from 18% to 22%, implemented in July 2024. Romania announced a 27% GGR tax on online operators from July 2025.

In 2025, Poland’s presidency of the European Council also called on EU executives to consider new directives targeting illegal and black market gambling as a growing economic threat. The broader direction, across both the Parliament and individual Member States, is towards greater fiscal and regulatory scrutiny of the online gambling sector.