Uruguay Forgot to Collect 67 Years of Gambling Taxes

Uruguayan politician Aníbal Gloodtdofsky is incensed that a 10% gambling tax on casinos dating from 1946 has been forgotten, and taxes have gone uncollected.

The tax was originally intended to fund the fight against tuberculosis and other prevalent diseases, but it has remained uncollected. The law remains valid today, even for municipal casinos operating under more recently issued licenses.

An update to the law has now been proposed: Collect five years of back taxes and direct these, and future revenues, to the National Resource Fund, which provides access to expensive drugs for patients with cancer and other expensive to treat diseases.

The Minister of Economy and Finance Fernando Lorenzo recently announced that the country’s gaming laws would be updated to create a system of regulation for online gaming.