Ecuador sees 65 companies express interest in 15% tax on gambling market

Ecuador’s Tax Authorities (SRI) has confirmed that a total of 65 sports betting companies have agreed to pay the 15% national tax.

Unveiled by the Director of SRI, Damian Larcothe applicants include 63 regional and two foreign sports betting companies – with the sports betting register being introduced in July following the approval of the Economic Efficiency and Job Creation Act.

The rules impose a 15% gross income tax on all operators, regardless of whether the companies are based in Ecuador or offshore, along with a 15% levy on player winnings.

Experts also believe that the number of active sports betting operators is higher than the official 65 registered. Larco assures that SRI actively monitors the market and is ready to blacklist the IP addresses of unlicensed operators to prevent tax evasion and money laundering.

In general, Ecuador currently has a distorted gambling landscape. A referendum dating back to 2011 gave former President Rafael Correa the power to eliminate gambling establishments in the country.

Since then, land-based casinos, bookmakers and bingo halls have been banned. Opponents of the ban argue that it is seriously damaging the tourism industry, which attracts far fewer tourists than the 400,000 annual visitors before 2011.

Currently, there is no explicit ban on online gaming, which has created a grey area in the sector.

The current president of Ecuador Daniel Noboa tried to address this early this year by a 11 questions to the Constitutional Court as part of a new national referendum. The final question asked for the public’s views on a fully regulated gambling sector.

Unfortunately, the 20-day period given to the court to provide the answers was shortened after the drug lord Adolfo “Fito” Macías escaped from prison on January 7, putting Ecuador in a civil war between authorities and drug cartels.

However, Noboa has not completely taken the idea off the table and the possibility of creating a regulated physical market in Ecuador remains.

There is currently no specific ban on sports betting.