From tomorrow Wednesday, the government in Grenada says they will place a 15% tax on all games of chance winnings once the amount is above EC$10,000 from Wednesday.

This means that all games of chance, including lottery and bingo, will be subjected to the tax.

The government had the power to tax lottery winnings since 2014 when the Income Tax Act of 2010 was amended but it was never enforced.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Mike Syster says the 2014 legislation states that “taxes are to be paid on winnings of cash and any reference to an amount and to payment in relation to winnings. A withholding tax of 15 per cent will only be charged on the excess over EC$10,000 and not the full winnings,”

The 15% tax will be payable to the promoter and not the winner. This may lead to an increase in the price of lottery and game tickets on spice island.