Online gambling operators in Colombia are preparing for a special tax which has been introduced by President Gustavo Petro.
The proposed temporary value added tax, which will be charged at 19 per cent of player deposits, has been introduced by decree under the powers available to the president in a state of emergency.
This follows the declaration of a state of emergency in late January in response to outbreaks of violence near the border between Colombia and Venezuela.
New York-listed Rush Street Interactive (RSI), which is one of the leading online operators in Colombia, expects the temporary tax to remain in place until the end of this year, subject to approval of the emergency decree by the Constitutional Court of Colombia.
RSI’s Colombian operations comprise approximately 13.3 per cent of the company’s overall revenue.
RSI said in a statement: “The Company will continue to analyze the potential effects of the Decree on its financial statements and operations.
“While the constitutionality, timing and impact of the Decree is unknown at this time, and any assessment of the impact to the Company of the various possible Decree scenarios remains speculative, the Company is actively anticipating certain actions that may, among other things, help reduce operating and marketing expenses to partially offset potential future impacts on the Company’s revenue.”
Colombia’s regulated gambling market generated revenue for the state of just over 1 billion pesos in 2024 to fund healthcare, with online gambling accounting for 42 per cent of the total.
Shares in Rush Street Interactive Inc. (NYSE:RSI) fell 4.07 per cent to close at $16.02 per share in New York Tuesday.