Singapore betting tax collection rises 12pct to US$2.8bln in latest fiscal year

Singapore’s collection of betting taxes – comprising gambling duties and casino tax – increased by 11.9 percent year-on-year to about SGD3.6 billion (US$2.8 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026. The figure was disclosed in the latest annual report from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). The agency refers to the reporting period as fiscal year 2025. The rate of increase accelerated significantly from the 1.7-percent growth recorded in the previous fiscal year, when betting tax collection reached SGD3.2 billion. But the contribution of betting taxes to Singapore’s overall tax take remained broadly stable despite the amount collected increasing at a double-digit rate. Betting taxes represented 3.7 percent of the SGD97.3 billion in total tax revenue collected by IRAS in the 12 months to March 31. That compared with approximately 3.6 percent of the SGD88.9 billion collected a year earlier. IRAS does not provide separate collection figures for casino tax and other gambling duties within the betting-tax category. Singapore has two casino complexes: Marina Bay Sands, operated by a unit of United States-based Las Vegas Sands Corp; and Resorts World Sentosa, run by Genting Singapore Ltd. Overall tax collection increased by 9.4 percent year-on-year in the fiscal year ended on March 31. IRAS attributed the growth across all tax categories to “increased economic activity and consumer spending” during the period. Corporate income tax was the largest source of revenue, at SGD34.4 billion, or 35.4 percent of total tax collection. Goods and services tax contributed SGD21.7 billion, while individual income tax generated SGD20.9 billion. Betting taxes were the second-smallest main category reported by IRAS, ahead only of withholding tax, which generated SGD2.5 billion. The SGD97.3 billion collected by the authority in the latest fiscal year represented “74.8 percent of the Singapore government’s operating revenue” and was equivalent to 12.3 percent of the city-state’s gross domestic product, according to the report. “Fiscal year 2025 was a strong and pivotal year for IRAS,” said the organisation’s commissioner, Ow Fook Chuen, in his message in the latest annual report. “We collected SGD97.3 billion in revenue, sustaining high efficiency with a cost of collection of 0.63 cents per dollar and keeping tax arrears low at 0.64 percent of net tax assessed,” he stated. “Beyond tax collection, we processed close to SGD1.2 billion of disbursements to support businesses and jobs,” he added.