Britain’s High Court is slated this week to hear a challenge leveled by the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association against the UK’s new online licensing and taxation regime.
The Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 and associated Gambling Commission guidance and policies will combine to scrap Britain’s existing White List for offshore operators marketing to British players and require them as of October 1 to submit to licensing and regulation.
As of December 1, any newly licensed entities also will be required to pay a 15 percent point of consumption tax on wagers placed by UK gamblers.
The GBGA, which represents many of the licensees that will be directly affected, plans to argue before the court that the act and the related tax are discriminatory and constitute an “illegitimate and disproportionate interference with the right to free movement of services” as codified in European Union treaty law.
“Our client is pleased that the (court) has recognized the strength of our claim, and has taken very sensible steps to ensure this is heard expeditiously before the regime is due to come into force,” said Dan Tench, a lawyer for the firm of Olswang, which is representing the association. “This is absolutely essential not only because we believe that this regime falls foul of European law but also because of the severe risk of detriment of consumers arising from the new law.”
The Gambling Commission, meanwhile, has extended the licensing deadline for software providers by two months, from January 31, 2015, to March 31. The commission said the extension takes into account the possibility that service providers may face a period of uncertainty since they must wait for their client operators to decide whether to stay in the country or refuse licensing exit, as a few have already.
