Industry Shares Tumble on U.K. Tax Increase Reports
This week news hit the U.K. radio waves that the Labour government was considering two proposals to increase gambling taxes and raise £3 billion ($3.92 billion) in additional funds.
One such plan from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) suggested doubling the current 15 percent general betting duty on land-based bookmaker profits and increasing the remote gaming duty for online gambling from 21 percent to 50 percent.
Listed operators responded badly to the Guardian report and U.K. share prices tumbled. Entain’s was down as much as 15 percent on the morning of Oct. 14, while Evoke shares fell as low as 16 percent. Playtech shares dropped 13 percent, while Rank Group traded almost 7 percent down on opening.
But the sector hit back at the report, shrugging off the proposals as outlandish and unlikely. Alun Bowden, senior vice-president for strategic insight at Eilers & Krejcik, said the 138 percent tax increase suggestion was unlikely to be taken seriously. While Regulus Partners said, “there are reasons why the treasury has not been so reckless before and we doubt they will be so reckless this time.”
However, both did acknowledge a much more sensible tax hike could be in the cards in the government’s upcoming Autumn Budget on Oct. 30.
Finland Mulls Early Market Launch As Legislation Reaches Final Revisions
Now in its final stages, Finland’s online gambling regulation was put to a cross-party steering committee of Finnish politicians this week to make final decisions on whether to bring forward the market launch date from January 2027 and allow commercial operators to provide horse racing betting.
The legislation is in the final stages of being drafted and will be sent off to the European Commission (EC) before the end of the year for approval, a spokesperson for the ministry of the interior confirmed.
CEO for Finland’s online gambling trade association Mika Kuismanen expects final modifications to the law will be made in the next four weeks and then sent off to the EC.
“There are only two issues left where the consensus has not been reached,” Kuismanen said. “The opening date and whether horse racing betting be offered under the monopoly license, or included in the open license available to any operator in the online market.
“There is a chance that operators can go live in the market earlier than January 2027,” he added.
Entain Revenue Rises in Q3; CFO Says Group “Back To Where It Should Be”
In a trading update on Oct. 17 Entain reported an 8 percent year-on-year increase in group revenue for Q3, driven by growth across its online business. The gambling giant also revealed that full-year adjusted EBITDA is likely to be near the top end of guidance.
Entain CFO Rob Wood said he was pleased to report the company’s recovery was continuing. “We’ve beaten our expectations again in Q3,” he told analysts.
“Online growth is back to being broadly in line with market growth. Which of course is where we should be. We are now delivering growth in all our core markets of Brazil, U.K. and U.S.
Answering questions on Italy and where the recent consolidation by Flutter, in acquiring Snaitech, had left Entain within the market, CEO Gavin Isaacs said Entain was still in line with its peers in terms of growth.
“Italy is a very strong market and we have a strong presence there, the consolidation has meant that the first and second players have led the way in size but we’re certainly in line with our peers in relation to growth.
“I can’t tell you right now whether we’re a buyer or a seller but it’s an important market and right now we’re assessing it,” he said.
Dutch Trade Bodies Call For Tougher Black Market Monitoring
The Netherlands Online Gambling Association (NOGA) and Licensed Dutch Online Gambling Providers (VNLOK) have called for greater monitoring of the black market after new data from the country’s regulator suggested lower-than-expected channelization rates.
Recent data on Dutch player spend and revenue suggested the market’s channelization rate is likely at 87 percent, based on consumer spending across both legal and illegal sites.
Based on this, VNLOK chair Helma Lodders and NOGA acting director Eric Konings insist the regulator must consider improving its monitoring of the black market. This, they say, will allow for more accurate estimates of the size of it.
“It is very important to continue to monitor developments in the illegal market, but also to improve the current monitoring,” they said in a joint statement.
