EU Member States have been urged to consider adopting a ‘unionised tax charge’ for online gambling operators, with proceeds directed towards funding social initiatives, education and workforce reskilling projects.
A proposal is being explored by Victor Negrescu, Vice-President of the European Parliament, who used a recent plenary address to reiterate support for examining an “EU-level iGaming tax” as part of broader budget reform discussions.
A member of Romania’s Social Democratic Party (PSD), Negrescu is among Parliament’s Vice-Presidents and plays a role in shaping and overseeing the EU’s budgetary framework. He has consistently advocated an investment-led financial model centred on education, youth and skills development.
Speaking before MEPs in Brussels, Negrescu framed the proposal as both an economic and social measure.
“The online gambling market is one of the fastest-growing digital industries in Europe,” the EU parliament was told.
“It generates tens of billions of euros every year, yet a significant part of these profits escapes fair taxation, and the rules remain fragmented at European level.”
Though his project is yet to be disclosed, the Romanian President advocates for revenues generated from an EU-wide contribution to be earmarked for EU-sanctioned education initiatives, including the re-skilling of labour.
Furthermore, funding from taxes would be reserved for ‘addiction prevention programmes and mental health support, in support of existing health care systems of member states’.
“If we want a Union that invests in people and in the future, we must have the courage to rethink our sources of funding,” Negrescu stated. “Europe needs credible resources that allow us to finance priorities such as education, skills and social cohesion.”
Estimates cited in parliament suggest that a modest EU-level levy could raise between €2bn and €4bn annually, potentially creating up to €28bn in additional fiscal capacity over the long-term EU budget cycle.
Negrescu: fragmentation is no issue
A core pillar of the initiative is fiscal harmonisation. Negrescu highlighted that gambling tax regimes across Member States currently range from “low single-digit rates to more than 40% in certain jurisdictions”. This disparity, he argues, creates distortions and unfair tax competition between states.
However, he also positioned the joint levy as a tool to counter black market encroachment across the bloc. According to Negrescu, operators contributing to an EU-level charge would effectively be certified for European audiences, helping authorities distinguish compliant businesses from illegal and illegal platforms targeting national consumers.
He stated that a harmonised contribution could form the basis for identifying “good actors” at EU level, strengthening oversight and supporting coordinated enforcement against offshore or unlicensed operators targeting European consumers.
In 2025, Poland’s residency of the European Council asked EU Presidents and Executives to consider new directives to tackle illegal and black market gambling as a new economic threat to the EU.
In response, Negrescu stands by the initiative, underlining its respect for individual autonomy of Member States, which will still be able to set their own gambling laws and national tax regimes. The proposed levy, he indicated, ‘would complement not replace domestic frameworks on gambling law’.
Will Negrescu show his hand?
The proposal has caught attention within Brussels budget discussions. Negrescu has not provided a formal timeline for when a legislative project or draft proposal will be published.
Economic and budgetary proposals put forward by the European Parliament are subject to a multi-stage legislative review prior to any authorisation. For major legislative decisions following ‘initial approval’, adoption requires an absolute majority of component members, meaning at least 376 votes out of 751 MEPs.
For now, the Negrescu project remains part of a broader debate on strengthening the EU’s ‘own resources’ but signals that online gambling taxation and regulatory alignment are increasingly entering mainstream EU fiscal policy debates.
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