Ghana’s Parliament has approved the repeal of the contentious Betting Tax, along with taxes on gaming and lotteries, and the 1.5% withholding tax on unprocessed gold. This decision follows the passage of the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025, on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
The Betting Tax, which imposed a 10% levy on gross winnings, was initially introduced to regulate gambling and boost government revenue. However, its implementation sparked significant opposition from both bettors and gaming operators, who argued that it placed an unfair financial burden on them.
During the 2024 election campaign, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had promised to abolish the tax, calling it a “nuisance tax.” True to this commitment, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson announced its removal in the 2025 budget, a proposal that Parliament has now endorsed.
In addition to abolishing the Betting Tax, Parliament also approved the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) Repeal Bill, 2025, which eliminates the unpopular digital tax. The E-Levy, introduced in March 2022 by the previous government, imposed taxes on electronic transactions, including mobile money transfers and online payments, with the goal of generating revenue for national development. However, the policy fell short of its financial targets and was met with significant resistance from both citizens and businesses.
In his budget speech on March 11, 2025, Dr. Forson reiterated the government’s commitment to removing “burdensome taxes,” including the Emissions Tax and the COVID-19 Levy, as part of a broader strategy to simplify the tax system and stimulate economic growth.
Background on the Betting Tax
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) had announced the introduction of the 10% withholding tax on lotto, betting, and gaming winnings in December 2023, under the Income Tax (Amendment) Act, 2023 (Act 1094). After a six-month extension, the tax officially came into effect on January 1, 2024. Despite warnings from the GRA that non-compliance would lead to sanctions under Section 78 of the Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915), the tax was highly unpopular, with many stakeholders calling for its repeal.
With the passage of the repeal bills, the tax burden on bettors, digital transaction users, and small-scale gold traders is expected to be alleviated, a move that has been widely celebrated by the public.
The bills will now be forwarded to President John Mahama for final approval.
