William Hill commissioned the Deloitte report and concluded that 27% of current revenues would move to unregulated markets should the government levy a 10% gross profits tax with this rate rising to 40 percent with a 15 percent duty.
The UK government announced in July that it was considering changes to the Gambling Act which would tax online wagers on a point of consumption basis.
It is worth noting that British Consumers spend over £1.7 billion a year which makes up 18% of the UK gamblingrevenues.
Currently online casinooperators manage to avoid been taxed in The UK at a rate of 15% by locating their internet operations in offshore jurisdictions which have low taxing policies such as the Isle of Man and Gibraltar.
The proposed changes to the current status could push more UK punters into the unregulated market and also have a knock on effect on gambling companies’ revenues and marketing spend which would also affect sports sponsorship and corporation taxes.
“Deloitte declared that there was a potential for an ‘adverse impact on the UK economy through reduced industry spend on its supply chain’ and noted that the gross value of Britain’s gambling industry was £1.2 billion to £1.5 billion.”
According to a treasury spokesman the responses to the review will be analyzed.