Dominican betting representatives estimate that the tax increase would lead to 75 percent illegality.
Dominican Republic.- From the National Association of Sports Betting of the Dominican Republic, they described the Selective Consumption Tax on gambling as "unfeasible", set at 16 percent. 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 the local site N, Espinal estimates that it would be more convenient if the authorities apply Law 139-11, on Tax Reform, more rigorously, and thus charge tax evaders, 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 that tax would lead to a drop in games and consequently, the goal of collecting more would not be achieved.
See also: Circe Almánzar asks for online gambling 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 fiscal reform proposal presented this Monday, it aims to increase collections by RD$122,486.6m, equivalent to 1.5 percent of 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 for the importation of gambling machines and devices would be eliminated. In addition, the proposal establishes that the maximum withholding on prizes or winnings obtained in gambling would increase from 25 to 27 percent.
Account holders are no longer able to withdraw money.
Indonesia.- Juda Agung, the deputy governor of Bank Indonesia (BI), has announced that 7,500 accounts have been frozen due to alleged links with online gambling. Holders cannot use the accounts or withdraw funds.
Agung said at a press conference: “Payment service providers, both banks and non-banks, must have fraud detection systems to identify accounts used for online gambling transactions and other fraud.”
Gambling in Indonesia is illegal for both citizens and foreigners. Several ministers are collaborating with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) to stop the use of payment and banking systems for online gambling. The government has also implemented a monitoring system using artificial intelligence to detect websites associated with online gambling.
Meutya Hafid, Indonesia’s communication and digital affairs minister, said authorities had taken down 380,000 pieces of online gambling content since October 20. A week ago, Hafid announced a restructuring of the communications ministry following the arrest of ten officials accused of accepting bribes from online gambling operators.
The Indonesian National Police has reported that it has identified 85 influencers suspected of promoting online gambling on social media. At a press conference at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Office in Central Jakarta, commissioner general Wahyu Widada said police began investigations following the creation of the Online Gambling Eradication Task Force on November 5.
