Colombia: Court suspends 19% VAT on online gaming GGR
In a historic decision, the high court halted the application of Decree 1390 and its derivatives, which sought to raise an additional COP 12 trillion for the 2026 budget. The measure freezes the collection of the Value Added Tax from iGaming operators, providing tax relief amid legal chaos.
The Constitutional Court of Colombia has set a legal milestone that directly impacts the profitability of the games of chance sector. With a vote of six magistrates in favor and two against, the Full Chamber provisionally suspended Decree 1390 of 2025, through which President Gustavo Petro had declared a State of Economic and Social Emergency. This executive maneuver sought to legislate by decree to cover the deficit of the 2026 National General Budget, which had previously been rejected by Congress.
The fall of the emergency declaration drags with it all legislative decrees derived from it. Among them, the most critical for the industry was Decree 1474 of 2025, which imposed a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 19% on the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) of online betting operators, both national and foreign. With this suspension, this tax burden becomes inapplicable until the Court issues a final ruling on the merits, which represents immediate relief for the finances of companies authorized by Coljuegos.
The end of Decree 1474: Tax relief for iGaming operators and the debate over VAT on GGR
The measure has generated mixed reactions in the sector. While guilds such as Fecoljuegos, chaired by Evert Montero, have historically advocated for modernizing the tax regime and shifting VAT from the "stake" (bet) to the GGR to make it more technical, the way the government tried to impose it raised alarms. The implementation via emergency decree, added to the current exploitation rights rates, threatened to raise the total tax burden to unsustainable levels without a technical debate in the legislature.
Lawyer Juan Camilo Carrasco, managing partner of Sora Lawyers and a legal reference for the industry in the country, summarized the sector’s climate on his social networks by describing the judicial decision as a source of "relief and uncertainty." Relief because it stops an immediate charge that altered the business models projected for 2026, but uncertainty because the tax discussion remains open and the government will seek other ways to raise funds. It is worth noting that the funds that could have been collected during the days the norm was in effect will not be automatically returned, but their fate will depend on the final constitutionality ruling.
Clash of powers: Petro calls the ruling a defense of the "mega-rich" amid the budget deficit
The Court’s decision is unprecedented, as it is the first time the tribunal uses its power to suspend the effects of a presidential decree before a final ruling, arguing an imminent risk to institutional order by evading Congressional control. The government sought to raise about COP 12 trillion (approx. USD 3.2 billion) with these measures to close the COP 16 trillion fiscal gap the country faces.
President Gustavo Petro’s reaction was swift. Through his account on X, the president accused the Court and Congress of blocking a necessary reform to clean up public finances. According to Petro, the suspension protects the "mega-rich," whom he pointed out as the sole targets of the new taxes on wealth and digital economic activities. This institutional confrontation forecasts a complex 2026 in regulatory matters, where the gaming industry will be caught in the crossfire between the Executive’s need for revenue and the Judicial Power’s legality controls.
Tags: Colombia, online betting Colombia, Colombia betting taxes, Colombia betting VAT