Offshore Gambling Firms to Pay 15% Tax

Offshore betting companies that avoid Britain’s gambling taxes will be hit with a new levy that could cost the industry as much as £300 million pounds. Under new regulations published next week, Britain will tax gambling according to where customers are based rather than the location of the operator.

This means that offshore operators will have to pay the same 15% tax rate as domestic betting companies. The tax will be applied to companies’ gross profits from December 2014.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Sajid Javid, said, “It is unacceptable that gambling companies can avoid UK taxes by moving offshore, and the government is taking decisive action to ensure this can no longer happen. “These reforms will ensure that remote-gambling operators who have UK customers make a fair contribution to the public finances.”

Some of the industry’s largest players, such as Ladbrokes, William Hill and Betfair, will all be affected by the new regulations.

However, Clive Hawkswood, the chief executive of the Remote Gambling Association said, “We knew it was coming … The focus for us now is on trying to get the actual rate of the tax reduced.”