Gov’t Aims to Level Tax Status for Online Casinos

The government has just announced that all gambling operators that take bets and advertise about their services and products in the UK will need to acquire a license. This is hoped to level the playing field between companies based in the UK and those based overseas.

This change in policy was begun 18 months ago; this revision is intended will give more protection to consumers in the UK no matter which site they are using for gaming.

There are those who don’t agree, of course. Some say the change could cause offshore operators, that are located in low-taxation areas to end up paying the identical rate, that is, 15 percent tax, on their UK gross profits as land-based operators need to pay.
John Penrose, the minister who is responsible for gambling, recently said that remote gambling would be structured with the needs of users in mind, not operators.

“The current system for regulating remote gambling doesn’t work,” said Penrose. “Overseas operators get an unfair advantage over UK-based companies, and British consumers who gamble online may have little or no protection depending on where the operator they deal with happens to be based.”

Most bookmakers, including such as big names in the industry as Ladbrokes and William Hill, have already moved their online operations offshore in an effort to benefit from lower taxes abroad and reap the same advantages as the overseas-based rivals. Penrose pointed out that it was imbalanced that overseas operators accepted bets in the UK “without bearing a fair share of the costs of regulation.”

Chief executive of the Remote Gambling Association, Clive Hawkswood, has acknowledged that while the regulation held no fears for its members, “a significantly higher tax burden that could lead to a reduction in value and choice for consumers certainly does. It is therefore clearly crucial that any new regulatory regime is complemented by a fair and sustainable fiscal regime.”