Greece collects 73% tax on online gambling winnings

Greece records a 73.1% increase in tax from online gambling wins in July and August 2026. Record comes after the introduction of higher tax rates on online casino and poker payouts. The increase in state receipts came despite a slight decline in gross gaming revenue (GGR) across the affected operators. The data was published by the Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC) on October 29. It included online gambling companies withheld €91.3m in taxes from player winnings during the first two months under the revised system, compared with €52.8m in the same period of 2025. The higher rates came to the action from July 1st 2026 after the government’s decision to increase taxation. Meanwhile, online GGR reached €206.5m in July and August, down 1.4% from €209.5m a year earlier. Before the changes, tax withheld by online operators had already increased 25.9% during the first six months of 2026. HGC data shows that higher taxation helped to increase state revenue in the global sector. During January-August 2026, tax withheld from player winnings reached €369.4m, up 27.3% from €290.2m in the corresponding period last year. Online operators accounted for €273.8m of the total, representing a 38.5% year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, total GGR across the Greek gambling market rose 4.2% to €2.06bn, compared with €1.98bn in the first eight months of 2025. The state’s public participation revenue, including the HGC levy, increased 7.9% to €484.5m from €448.8m. The HGC has also moved to monthly publication of its financial data, with figures covering September 2026 expected by 10 November. Greece introduces higher taxes on online casino and poker winnings The new tax regime can be found in Article 69 of Law 5313/2026. It includes online casino games along with other online games stipulated by Greek law. Under the new structure: Winnings of up to €100 per gaming session are tax-free. Winnings between €100 and €500 are subject to a 20% tax. Winnings exceeding €500 are taxed at 30%. The announcement of the changes was made by the government in March as part of a broader economic initiative. Thanos Petralias, the Deputy Minister of Finance, claimed that the new tax legislation comes following the rapid rise in online casinos and poker with the argument of being fair when increasing state revenues. At that point of time, Mr. Petralias assumed that the new tax system would provide an additional income of 50 million euros in 2026 and 100 million euros in 2027. The estimates contained in the analysis were accounted for changes in customers’ needs being based on the details provided by gambling operators. The Greek government has taken into consideration the potential effects of higher tax rates on the tendency of customers to move to unlicensed gambling services.