The President of Peru. Pedro Castillo, has enacted a new law that will regulate remote gambling and sports betting, and sets a 12% tax rate on all online gambling profits.
Speaking to local press at the signing of the legislation, President Castillo said:
“The Executive Branch and Congress have established a regulatory framework so that these operations are controlled in a comprehensive manner, paying taxes, as in countries: Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, as well as a large part of the United States and Europe.”
According to the law, the Ministry of Foreign Trade-Tourism (Mincetur) will become the administrative authority with the power to regulate, authorize, revoke, supervise, and sanction online gambling and sporting bets.
He went on to add:
“For the first time, Peru is creating a special tax on online gambling and sporting bets of 12%, which will lead to an annual collection by the State of S/156 million (about US$40 million)”
The President also gave a breakdown of where the taxes will be used with 40% allocated for tourism development, 20% to promote mental health and care, and 20% for the Public Treasury.
“This is a law that will benefit the country because, on the one hand, it will enable the State to rely on greater resources so as to meet its obligations in economic and social matters, which will result in better living conditions
On the other hand, because it represents an important step in the formalization of activities that used to operate without any type of control until today.”
Speaking directly to gambling operators, Castillo said:
“We call on you to invest responsibly, to register in Peru and pay the corresponding taxes.”
Peru’s iGaming legislation was unanimously approved by a vote of 91-0 earlier in July.
Image credit: Genu5960 / CC BY-SA 3.0
Olivia has worked as an editor and writer for major brands across multiple niches. She now focuses on the iGaming and sports betting industries.