Stas Madan, expert
Economist Stas Madan made this statement while commenting on the company’s financial results and the proposed 6 percent turnover tax currently under discussion.
According to Madan’s calculations, out of 13.26 billion lei in turnover, approximately 12.72 billion lei—or nearly 96%—was returned to players in the form of winnings. Gross gaming revenue, according to his data, amounted to 536 million lei.
The economist notes that the high turnover is due to the repeated use of the same funds for new bets. Therefore, in his opinion, it is incorrect to use sales or turnover figures as a measure of the population’s actual expenditures.
“Every leu actually lost by players may be counted multiple times in the total turnover,” according to Madan’s calculations.
A 6% Tax Could Change the Market Model
According to the economist, the proposed 6% tax on turnover could place an additional burden on gambling operators, as it would be calculated based on each bet rather than on actual revenue received.
Madan believes that such a decision could reduce the attractiveness of the legal market and encourage some players to use foreign or illegal platforms. As a result, he estimates that the impact on the budget may be lower than expected.
“As a result, the state will lose control over a significant portion of gambling participants; budget revenues may increase slightly, but a sharper decline in turnover could even lead to losses, even taking this turnover tax into account,” the expert notes.
According to the data he provided, in 2025, the National Lottery of Moldova transferred 504.6 million lei to the national public budget. The main sources of these revenues were the tax on winnings, dividends received by the state as the sole shareholder, and income tax.
The economist urged that, when discussing the new tax measure, the difference between turnover, the amount of funds actually contributed by players, and the gambling operator’s actual revenue be taken into account.
Thus, the key issue in introducing a new tax lies not only in the amount of potential budget revenue but also in how a change in the tax burden will affect the size of the legal market and the behavior of its participants.
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