New online gambling tax and regulations for UK

UK Treasury confirmed this week that they in favour of new remote gambling tax proposals put forward by John Penrose last week.

Penrose, the minister responsible for gambling policy has outlined a change in regulations governing online gambling in the UK which will require all operators to have a UK Gambling Commission license.

Regulation should occur at the location where the gambling happens, not just where it is supplied from was the gist of the proposal. Taxes on UK source gambling income will also be introduced in an effort to level the playing field.

Treasury were always unlikely to be unhappy with the idea, likely to raise significant additional revenues once implemented.

Not so happy will be operators licensed in jurisdictions like Gibraltar where gaming taxes are a very attractive 1 percent compared with the UK Gambling Commission's 15 percent. William Hill and Ladbrokes shifted their online operations to Gibraltar precisely because of favourable tax rates.

Many other big brand operators marketing their product within the UK are licensed in Gibraltar, Isle of Man and Alderney and will take a considerable tax hit once the new UK regulations are introduced.