Peru’s Congress will review  President Dina Boluarte’s 1% gambling tax, as market warns that the turnover-based charge is an unsustainable burden on domestic businesses. Damian Martinez of SBC Noticias views that the  judgement will determine whether lawmakers revise the fiscal model of gambling in Peru or uphold the current system marred in growing unease and political tension.

The National Congress of Peru will determine whether to command the government to modify relevant articles related to the taxation of online gambling and sports betting activities.

The matter has been transferred to Congress due to demands to apply new substitute texts to Bill 9645, which contains the fiscal plan for the Law Regulating the Operation of Remote Gaming and Remote Sports Betting in Peru (Law 31557).

The referral has reignited political tensions around President Dina Boluarte’s intervention on gambling policy, most notably her decision to impose a 1% Selective Consumption Tax (ISC) on all wagers, regardless of licensing status, as part of the rollout of the regulated online market in early 2024.

Peru: Chaos follows order

Law 31557, enacted in February 2024 saw two years of development. The Law was designed to deliver a modern, fully regulated model for online casino and sports betting aligned with Peru’s digital economy and public welfare goals. 

Oversight of the regime was assigned to MINCETUR, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, responsible for licensing, supervision and compliance.

Early signs pointed to a stable market transition for Peru. MINCETUR confirmed the authorisation of 60 technology platforms, the registration of 280 domestic and international service providers, the accreditation of nine international testing laboratories, and a network of 4,516 authorised venues, bolstered by 683 new betting shops registered since December 2024.

Yet those assurances have been overshadowed by fiscal concerns following Boluarte’s tax intervention, with operators and regulators now facing a restructuring of the entire fiscal model to accommodate Dina’s tax charge.

Many loopholes need closing 

The Executive’s substitute text seeks to address perceived tax gaps, sharpen regulatory competencies and define fiscal obligations across the sector. 

Central to the proposal is granting the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) authority to adjust the ISC between 0.3% and 7%, while immediately tripling the current rate from 1% to 3% upon enactment.

The text also removes provisions on match-fixing, with Congress noting these offences were already legislated under a previous bill led by minister Diana Gonzales.

The core dispute concerns the uneven tax burden created by the current structure. Peruvian operators must absorb the ISC directly, while foreign operators can pass the cost to players. 

The substitute text aims to eliminate this imbalance by making all operators domestic or foreign directly liable for the tax under a uniform, non-discriminatory system.

President Boluarte has warned that altering the law could inflict “serious fiscal damage”. MEF projections show annual ISC revenues dropping from 284m soles (≈ €70m) to as little as 14–28m soles (≈ €3.5–€7m) a fall of up to 95%. 

What comes next?

Domestic licensees, meanwhile, argue that turnover-based taxation is unworkable and disproportionately penalises compliant companies unable to pass the ISC to customers.

Critics also question the capacity of SUNAT, Peru’s customer agency, to collect the tax from foreign-facing platforms, fuelling concerns of regulatory imbalance and competitive distortion.

Congress must now decide whether to override the presidential veto, revise the tax architecture, or maintain the existing model under Law 31557. 

The outcome will set the direction for Peru’s online gambling regime at a pivotal moment — determining whether the market can sustain balanced growth, fair taxation and regulatory integrity in the face of rising political and commercial pressures.