Will There Be Taxes on Online Sports Betting in Ontario?

You only need to take a look at Canada’s southern neighbors to see that there are several US states which heavily tax sports betting online. Each US state has their own approach, with some opting for a far more manageable percentage when it comes to taxing the sportsbooks and their players. 

Now, with that in mind, what are the taxes like for online sports betting in Ontario? Let’s take a closer look at what Canadian sports betting fans are going to have to deal with in terms of paying taxes on their winnings.

What is the current tax law like for sports betting?

At the time of writing this article, the tax percentage on sports betting in Ontario sits at a very round (and beautiful we might add) 0. You read that correctly, there is currently no taxation on sports betting winnings in Canada or Ontario. So, why is Ontario so different from states in the US when it comes to having their winnings taxed? Firstly, the law in Canada states that all players who gamble with these sportsbooks are amateurs, no matter how successful they may be with their betting endeavors. So, for every casual betting fan in Ontario, this means that absolutely none of your sports betting winnings will be taxed. Not one single penny of your winnings will go to the Canadian government.

The only exception that is made in Canada is for professional gamblers. For the most part, we have only really seen this happen for professional poker players and that makes sense to be fair. Many of these players are taking home millions of dollars for their poker efforts. For now it would seem that only those who are true professionals will be taxed. As far as sports betting goes though, how can one really be professional? From what we can gather, there have been no exceptions made on sports bettors in Canada which means that even the best sports betting fans won’t be classified as professional.

Why have there been rumblings about taxing renue in Canada then?

This is just one more reason Canadian people should love their country. The government has had concerns about the lack of taxation on sports betting revenue but from the players themselves. The government is leaving the sports betting fans well and truly out of the discussion. Instead, Canada and Ontario have been discussing taxing the massive revenue that the sportsbooks themselves are bringing in from being in Canadian markets.

What has been the hold up then on going forward with taxing these sportsbooks? Well, it’s only the Canadian government looking out for their people yet again. The concern is that if the government begins to tax the sportsbooks in Canada, that they will slowly start to increase the hold percentages on players’ bets, which in its own right is a form of tax on players that bet on these sites. If they did tax these sportsbooks, it could start a domino effect which would see players leaving these sportsbooks to play on gray market sites again to find lower rakes percentages.

A stand still ensues

At the time of writing our news article, nothing has changed on the taxation of sports betting. For now, it appears that everything is going to stay just as it is. Sports betting fans still won’t be taxed on their winnings, and sportsbooks can still rake in huge revenue streams from the traffic they receive on their sites.

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Will there be taxes on online sports betting in Ontario FAQ