KHO: pro betting is income activity; losing stakes deductible

The Supreme Administrative Court (korkein hallinto-oikeus) has held in KHO:2026:79 that a professional bettor's sports-betting activity counts as tulonhankkimistoiminta, income-acquisition activity within the meaning of the Income Tax ActFinlex, even though success in betting rests partly on chance. The consequence is that stakes paid on bets placed outside the EEA are deductible in full from taxable earned income (veronalainen ansiotulo)Finlex, including stakes on losing betsFinlex.

The taxpayer, A, had bet on Finnish football matches, financing his and his family's living from betting in 2010-2020. His method rested on gathering information and analysing matches, in particular live betting on matches with no television or internet stream, to find mispricings by bookmakers in the odds they set. In busy months his weekly hours ran between 50 and 100, and in quieter periods between 30 and 50. In 2020 he placed 2,145 separate bets with providers outside the EEA, staking a total of 365,606 euroFinlex and receiving payouts totalling 406,713 euro, a profit of 41,106 euro.

The Tax Administration had taken a narrower view. It adjusted A's 2020 taxation to his detriment by adding 112,369.48 euro to earned incomeFinlex, holding that a stake is deductible only so far as it attaches to a winning betFinlex, and imposed a 1,154.60 euro tax surcharge (veronkorotus)Finlex. The tax adjustment board rejected A's claim on 15 February 2024 by reference to KHO 2022:60, and the Helsinki Administrative Court dismissed his appeal on 17 December 2025, reasoning that each bet is a separate event assessed bet by bet, so that stakes on losing bets never accrued taxable income and could not be income-acquisition expenses.

The Supreme Administrative Court disagreed. Operating through bookmakers' betting services is not liike- or ammattitoiminta, business activity, under the Act on the Taxation of Business IncomeFinlex. But A's success rested not only on chance: it also rested on his information gathering and knowledge of the betting marketsFinlex, and given the scale and systematic character of the activityFinlex, he pursued it with the stable intent of acquiring income that the Income Tax Act requiresFinlex. The activity was therefore tulonhankkimistoiminta.

That reclassification settles the deductions. A may deduct the full 365,606 euro of stakes paid on bets placed outside the EEA from his taxable earned incomeFinlex, alongside the home-to-work travel costs of 5,541 euro already allowed after the deductible portion. His return was accordingly neither deficient nor erroneousFinlex, so no surcharge was dueFinlex; the administrative court's decision, the adjustment board's decision and the detrimental adjustment of the 2020 taxation were all quashedFinlex. Whether A's other claimed costs, such as home-office, telephone and internet costs, subscription fees, additional travel costs and match tickets, are expenses of acquiring or maintaining income was sent back to the tax adjustment board for assessmentFinlex.

On costs, the court rejected the tax recipients' rights supervision unit's request to leave part of the claim unexamined and ordered the Tax Administration to pay A's Supreme Administrative Court litigation costs of 5,820 euroFinlex, holding that the 310 euro administrative court fee counts as a recoverable litigation costFinlex.

Legal basis: tuloverolaki 29 §:n 1 momentti and laki elinkeinotulon verottamisesta annetun lain 1 §:n 1 momentti, as applied in KHO:2026:79 for tax year 2020Finlex.