Online gamers 'will stay offshore'
Budget announcement of 15% tax rate will mean big online gaming firms will stay in Gibraltar
Britain is unlikely to become a serious player in online gambling, after the
chancellor announced a 15% gaming duty for betting websites in the Budget last
week.
Companies such as
Partygaming and
Ladbrokes have reportedly
made it clear that a rate of between 2% and 3% would be acceptable. Currently,
many are based in Gibraltar and pay little or no tax on their profits.
The government wants to make the UK a centre for the industry.
But Wayne Lochner, chief executive of betting exchange Betbrokers, told the
Sunday
Telegraph: ‘The government seemed so far-sighted in viewing online sports
betting as a financial product and an industry of the future.
‘The operators, who pay 1% tax in Gibraltar, would have relished a return to
the UK where they could be part of an industry centre of excellence. Potential
revenue and jobs have now been lost.’
Further reading:
Read
the Sunday Telegraph story
Q&A: Martin Weigold, CEO
of Partygaming
Rosemary Thorne to quit
Ladbrokes’ CFO role