SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill received Royal Ascent, reforming the 2005 Gambling Act. The passing of the bill will require all betting operators servicing UK customers to adhere to UK Gambling Commission practices and implemented laws. Operators must also be fully licensed by the Gambling Commission in order to do business in the UK.
Royal Assent is the name for the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves an act of his or her nation’s parliament, thus making it a law or letting it be promulgated as law.
The Bill will see online gambling by British consumers regulated on a point of consumption (POC – 15% from the 2015) . All operators selling into the British market, regardless of where they may be registered corporately, will be required to hold a Gambling Commission licence to enable them to transact with British consumers. UK bookmakers will also be forced to contribute to the UK Horse Racing Levy.
Licenced UK online betting and gaming operators must now hold UK HMRC tax certificates, which will allow them to pay tax on consumption. Registration for the HMRC will be available to operators by Autumn 2014. The UK Gambling Commission with the aid of UK Customs & Excise will monitor the tax generation of the industry, where
Furthermore all operators will be required to inform the Gambling Commission about suspicious betting patterns, to help fight illegal activity and corruption in sports betting. Overseas based operators will also be required to pay and to contribute to research, education and treatment in relation to British problem gambling and regulatory costs.
Chairman of the Gambling Commission, Philip Graf commented on the passing of the bill : This is a welcome step forward – bringing the 85% of the remote gambling market currently regulated overseas within the Commission’s remit will provide us with direct access to and oversight of all commercial gambling provided to those in Britain. This means that we will be far better placed to protect players and to respond to and advise the government on emerging player protection and consumer risks and issues.
