Colombia pauses 19% online gambling VAT after court suspends emergency decree ahead of 2026 elections

The Constitutional Court’s provisional suspension of Decree 1390 also freezes the tax package that introduced a 19% VAT on online games of chance, leaving the sector back under the pre-emergency levy framework while the final ruling is pending.

Constitutional Court of Colombia has ordered a provisional suspension of Decree 1390 (the nationwide “economic and social emergency” declaration), a rare move that immediately halts the legal effects of the emergency regime until a final constitutional review is completed.

As a direct consequence, the Court stated that Decree 1474—the emergency tax decree adopted to fund 2026 budget needs—“will not produce effects” while the case is pending. That matters for the gambling sector because Decree 1474 introduced a 19% VAT on “games of chance operated exclusively via the internet,” applying to both domestic and foreign operators and calculated on gross gaming revenue (stakes minus prizes).

The pause reopens the wider political fight over how to tax online betting in a year when Colombia votes for Congress on 8 March 2026 and for president on 31 May 2026—timelines that typically make new tax hikes harder to advance through the normal legislative route.

For operators, the immediate impact is a rollback to the standard pre-emergency structure administered by Coljuegos, including the 15% “exploitation rights” charge on gross income minus prizes for internet games (separate from the now-paused VAT layer). For the government of Gustavo Petro, the court’s decision is another obstacle to raising additional revenue after the administration sought to boost state finances via emergency measures following a failed tax reform push in Congress.

If the Court ultimately strikes down the emergency declaration, Colombia’s attempt to keep a VAT layer on online gambling in 2026 will likely have to restart as a regular bill—meaning the market could face months of uncertainty, but also a clearer, more durable outcome once the political cycle passes.