Dominican betting representatives estimate that the tax increase would drive illegality to 75 percent.
Dominican Republic.- From the National Association of Sports Betting of the Dominican Republic, they described the Selective Consumption Tax on gambling set at 16 percent as "unfeasible." Representatives of sports betting estimate that thanks to this new tax, informality would increase from 50 to 75 percent.
In this regard, Jefrey Espinal, vice president of the Sports Betting Association, completely rejected the tax proposed in the Government's Fiscal Reform initiative.
According to local site N, Espinal believes it would be more appropriate if the authorities applied Law 139-11, on Tax Reform, more rigorously, thereby charging tax evaders and regulating the entire gambling sector. Espinal estimates that informality is around 50 percent and with greater control, the authorities would manage to collect more.
“The 16 percent Selective Consumption Tax on the gambling sector, which is not applied anywhere else in the world, would bankrupt our sector,” Espinal assured, who went to the National Congress to express his rejection of the 16 percent tax on gambling, established in the Fiscal Reform presented by the Dominican government on October 7.
The representative of the Dominican sports betting estimates that applying this tax would lead to a decline in games and consequently, the goal of raising more would not be achieved.
See also: Circe Almánzar asks for online gaming to be regulated in the Dominican Republic: "It could be a very important source of income for the government"
The Dominican government, through the Minister of Finance, Jochi Vicente, announced on Monday, October 7, the details of the fiscal reform or modernization. According to the official, the goal of the reform is “to meet the demands of the citizens concerning basic services, which also suggests an increase in public spending”.
The Government reported that with the proposed fiscal reform presented this Monday, it aims to increase collections by RD$122,486.6m, equivalent to 1.5 percent of the GDP.
The proposal includes a new selective tax on gambling, with the aim of collecting RD$1,512m (USD24.7m). Also, the Government proposes that from the reform, the exemption on the importation of gambling machines and devices would be eliminated. Moreover, the proposal establishes that the maximum withholding on prizes or winnings obtained in gambling would increase from 25 to 27 percent.
Sherwin Gatchalian urged a proactive approach to cancel permits and send these workers to their countries of origin.
The Philippines.- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to take proactive measures to cancel alien employment permits (AEPs) issued to offshore gaming workers. During discussions on the DOLE’s proposed budget for 2025, Gatchalian said: “Offshore gaming operators are morphing into something else so they could stay in the country and continue their scamming activities.
“We need a very proactive approach to cancel and eventually send these workers to their country of origin and we need the entire government machinery to work together to cut the legal basis for these individuals to stay in the Philippines.”
On November 5, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order (EO) 74, ordering an immediate ban on offshore gaming. The order requires offshore gaming operators and related auxiliary and ancillary services with issued licences to wind up by December 3.
The DOLE reported that it had issued around 15,819 AEPs in 2024. However, since the president’s announcement of the ban, approximately 36,000 AEPs have been revoked. The DOLE said it is collaborating with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to make sure working visas associated with offshore gaming-related activities are terminated, preventing foreign nationals from remaining in the country illegally.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian has proposed that the Philippine National Police (PNP) be granted more funding for intelligence work to help it tackle offshore gaming operators. He said the PNP’s intelligence fund had decreased from PHP1.356bn (US$23.2m) in 2023 to PHP906.025m (US$15.5m) this year. According to the National Expenditure Program (NEP), funding for 2025 was to be PHP806.025m.
Gatchalian said: “The PNP needs funds to gather intelligence, particularly in the fight against offshore gaming operators. This is the time to support the PNP in gathering more intelligence.”
He added: “Given the President’s directive to terminate all offshore gaming operations in the country by the end of the year, law enforcement agencies such as the PNP need to double down on their efforts to flush out all offshore gaming operators, particularly those that are involved in illegal activities such as kidnap-for-ransom, human trafficking, and online scamming.”
