The online exchange World Bet Exchange has folded up its tent in the face of the UK’s new point of consumption tax.
While betting has been suspended, customers can continue to withdraw their account balances.
In an email to WBX customers, CEO Malcolm Gray said that he was proud of his team and also “the fairness in which the exchange has operated” and said WBX would “continue to service its members and affiliates in the same spirit during the wind-down period.”
Gray also said regulatory changes in the UK led to the closing.
“Unfortunately the business strategy is no longer viable due to the rising costs of regulatory compliance and levies in the United Kingdom, along with the increasingly prohibitive stance of various betting jurisdictions,” the email said.
WBX was launched in November 2006 as an alternative to Betfair. The UK instituted a 15 percent online point of consumption tax in December.
