Gambling taxes are regressive in that people with lower income tend to spend more of their budget on gambling products. Therefore, they contribute more to gambling tax revenues. Using data from the 2014 Household Budget Survey in Italy, the researchers compared how regressive gambling taxes are to other consumption taxes, especially taxes on other sin goods (i.e., cigarettes, beer, and wine). In the short term, based on income, gambling taxes were the most regressive of all the sin goods. In the long run, based on the amount of money spent, gambling taxes were less regressive than cigarettes and beer. However, gambling taxes were still more regressive than the consumption taxes of some other goods. Despite the focus on the Italian context, the findings of this study could offer insights for other countries. The results highlight the need to control the social costs of gambling and offset its unequal effects on vulnerable groups.
