Ecuador confirms 15% VAT on digital betting and online gaming services
Ecuador’s tax authority has confirmed that digital services linked to betting, sports predictions, sports streaming and online gaming are subject to VAT at 15 per cent, with specific rules depending on the provider’s residence and whether financial intermediaries are involved.
Digital accessibility and the growth of online gaming services
In the current context of expanding digital services and online gaming, Ecuador’s tax administration has moved to clarify how VAT applies to business models based on platforms and automated content.
The Servicio de Rentas Internas del Ecuador (SRI) confirmed in Circular No. NAC‑DGECCGC26‑00000004 that digital services related to sports predictions, betting, online games and similar content are subject to the standard VAT rate of 15 per cent. This position is based on Article 56 of the Internal Tax Regime Law (Ley de Régimen Tributario Interno) and on paragraph 1 of Article 140 of its regulations.
The authority expressly includes sports prediction services offered through domestic or foreign digital platforms, as well as online video games and digital transmissions of sporting events, thereby sending a clear signal to operators and content providers in this ecosystem.
Scope of “digital service” for betting and online gaming
To support this approach, the SRI recalls the definition of a “digital service”, which covers services provided or contracted via the internet or similar technologies, essentially automated and involving minimal human intervention, regardless of the device used by the consumer to access them.
Within that definition, the SRI specifies that digital services include “access to or download of images, text, information, video, sports events or other events, music, games including games of chance”, ranging from downloads of audiovisual content to online multiplayer games. The tax administration also includes the distribution of music, films, betting or any digital content, even when delivered via streaming technology without prior download to a storage device, which directly affects the business models of sports predictions and live sports platforms.
Legal framework for betting, predictions and online games
Under the rules, the SRI clarifies that the concept covers, among others, online video games provided through payment, subscription or download, as well as sports prediction services offered via virtual or electronic platforms, whether domestic or foreign. Streaming of sports events is also included among the digital services contracted by users in Ecuador, bringing both access to content and associated predictions and betting services under a single VAT treatment.
“As a result, taxpayers who provide these services must apply the current general VAT rate, currently 15 per cent, and fully comply with the tax obligations arising from such operations,” the SRI emphasises, sending a direct message to operators that structure their offering in hybrid formats combining content and online gaming.
VAT treatment for online gaming and sports predictions
At an operational level, VAT treatment for online games and sports predictions in Ecuador depends on the service provider’s residence and whether a financial intermediary is involved in the payment transaction.
When the provider is resident in Ecuador or registered with the SRI, it acts as the collecting agent for VAT. It must therefore issue sales invoices, and declare and pay VAT within its normal compliance cycle.
When the service provider is non‑resident and not registered with the Ecuadorian tax authority, the rules require that the financial intermediary, such as a bank or card issuer, withhold VAT at the time of payment by the consumer.
Banks, platforms or users: who pays VAT on online gaming in Ecuador
Circular NAC‑DGECCGC26‑00000004 not only defines which digital services related to betting, sports predictions and online games are taxed, but also sets out who must collect VAT in each scenario.
For operators, banks, and digital service providers, changes to contracts, payment flows, and billing systems have become a minimum requirement for market entry in Ecuador’s online gaming market, which is growing under increasingly strict tax supervision.
This article was first published in Spanish on 21 April 2026.
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