The online gambling industry in the United Kingdom has been shaken up by the recent news that greatly impacts its legislation known as the UK Gambling Act. As of last week, the UK Department of Culture, Media and Sports, a regulatory body that governs the country’s Gambling Commission, is no longer providing whitelisting services to online casinos and wagering sites looking for advertising opportunities. There is however, a bright side for operators still seeking approval and addition to the whitelist. According to the announcement, the whitelist is only on hold temporarily while the Department of Culture wraps up its thorough analysis and review of the UK Gambling Act.
Similar to the United State’s UIGEA, the UK Gambling Act has always been a controversial matter and even more so in recent times. Most of the chaos has been centered around the significant tax increase that is leading some of the country’s premiere gambling operators away from the UK. Ladbrokes and William Hill are just two notable companies that moved their operations to the offshore locations of Gibraltar and Malta, regulatory jurisdictions where taxes are much cheaper and more in line with their competitive needs. In addition to the issue of skyrocketing taxes, online gambling opponents are expressing concern that the UK Gambling Act is not doing its part to prevent compulsive and underage gambling. Though many published reports attest these claims, the current state of internet wagering in the UK has given anti-gambling parties all the ammunition they need to stir up some noise.
For the most part, the concern of problematic and underage gambling is directed towards land-based casino gaming. This is because UK Gambling Act passed in 2005 allowed the opening of numerous brick and mortar casino establishments. However, the concern over higher tax rates seems to be the more glaring issue because it is specific to the UK’s online gambling sector. A number of UK bookmookers, prominent firm Will Hill included, are not thrilled about the recent happenings, stating that whitelisting allows the online casino operators regulated outside of the United Kingdom to unfairly reap benefits. Their big gripe is that whitelisted companies are given the privilege to advertise their business in the UK., while not being subject to same regulations and most importantly, the same tax rates handed down by the UK Gambling Commission. To make it simple, Will Hill and others are being forced to pay more than ten times in tax dollars as operators regulated in other jurisdictions.
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When taking all these problems into account, it becomes clear to see that the need for the UK Department of Media and Culture to review the UK Gambling Act is well warranted. This is especially true if the body wants to keep its most profitable gambling operators on UK soil. As of this time, the study is projected to be completed later this year and lobbied to Parliament early in 2010 for further review. This final review will determine whether or not the whitelisting of offshore online casino operators will simply be a temporary or freeze, or dropped altogether.
