Survey Suggests U.K. Tax Hike Could Push Players to Black Market
Two-thirds of bettors surveyed by YouGov in Great Britain have said a proposed increase in online betting tax rates would drive them to play with unlicensed operators.
The YouGov survey found the majority of respondents had concerns over the impact of higher taxes. Some 65 percent of players agreed increased rates “would make customers turn to unregulated betting sites” if costs were passed on to the consumer.
In April, the treasury announced a consultation, proposing replacing three online betting tax rates with a single rate. This consultation launched on May 6 and is due to close on July 21.
Commenting on the issue, Melanie Ellis, partner at Northridge Law, said although some operators could absorb the impact of a few percent on tax rates, many are already operating on tight margins.
“Particularly, smaller and newer brands who are trying to grow their market share” will be affected, she said.
“The BGC is concerned that bookmakers will be forced to offer less favorable odds to retain a profit margin, but it may be that a tax increase simply leads to a contraction of the market.”
BOS: Private Casinos Could Have Saved Sweden’s Land-based Sector
Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general for Sweden’s gambling trade body BOS, believes Sweden’s land-based casino sector could have been profitable if private operators had been able to compete with the Svenska Spel monopoly.
Hoffstedt sees the lack of innovation at Svenska Spel’s Casino Cosmopol as one of the major factors behind its demise.
“Casino Cosmopol remained a monopoly to the end, which meant no competition or innovation,” he said. “If there’s no competition, innovation dies.”
In April the monopoly closed its remaining venue in Stockholm, weeks after parliament moved to end land-based gambling in the country.
On April 2 the Riksdag said land-based casinos in Sweden no longer served their purpose. It pointed to declining profitability and visitor numbers at Casino Cosmopol.
Hoffstedt believes land-based casinos could fulfill an important role in Sweden’s gambling ecosystem.
“I believe land-based casinos could be profitable in cities like Stockholm, Malmö, and Gothenburg – if they were open to private operators,” he says.
If the government were to reverse its decision, a number of BOS’ remote operators would likely be interested in a license.
Gibraltar Removed from EC ‘High-Risk’ List
Gambling hub Gibraltar has been removed from the European Commission list of high-risk jurisdictions, after years of pushback from the peninsula. This follows its prior removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “grey list.”
The list compiles high‑risk jurisdictions that present strategic deficiencies in their national anti‑money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regimes.
Since 2022, the British Overseas Territory has been considered a Jurisdiction under Increased Monitoring, alongside Malta, by the FATF. Within that year, the Gibraltar government committed to complying with an FATF action plan in a timely manner.
Last year, its removal from the EC’s list was blocked during a European Parliament vote and many believe it relates to Gibraltar’s longstanding dispute with Spain.
The updated list must also go through a parliamentary vote, but stakeholders are optimistic this year.
Ireland’s GRAI to Consider Tiered Licensing Fee Model
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) will consider five-year licenses and a tiered licensing fee model, it has said in response to an industry consultation which raised concerns over the cost and time frame of gambling licenses.
Operators expressed concerns that the baseline fee of €20,000 for a remote licence represented a “major” increase in the cost of the license, compared to other markets and the current system in Ireland.
GRAI said it would consider a tiered licensing fee model based on gross gambling yield (GGY) or a hybrid of turnover (meaning gross profit in this instance) and GGY.
Ireland’s gambling regulator was established under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 last year to manage the creation of Ireland’s gambling regulatory framework.
It conducted its first public consultation over four weeks in April and May and received 27 responses, largely from operators. Key concerns raised were the cost of the application fee and need for clarification around what the fee calculation system would look like.
