Online casino news and fixed odds terminals

It may seem somewhat unusual for us here at onlinecasino.ie to be reporting on the latest UK government budget statement in our regular Irish casino news report, but this time we feel it worthy of comment. The gambling industry as a whole, including online casinos has been a target for politicians and anti-gambling groups for many years, with the perceived problem gambling issue high on the agenda. The most recent target has of course been the fixed odds terminals now common in almost all high street betting shops, which feature casino games such as roulette and are considered to be very addictive. Interestingly, amid vociferous calls for such machines to be banned the UK government has decided that the best option is to tap into the revenue stream themselves by increasing taxes on fixed odds terminals. They have also decided to attempt to extract more money from the online casino operators most of which are based offshore. Both of these measures will undoubtedly prove popular with the anti-gambling lobby and one wonders whether other governments including the Irish government will be tempted to follow suit. The effects of these taxes on the big online casino operators however will be significant, and the viability of many high street betting shops will also be called into question because it is often the fixed odds terminals which support their very existence. Shareholders in Ladbrokes and William Hill were quick to react and both companies suffered major falls in their share price as a result of the increased taxes which will clearly hit their profits. It was however not all bad news for the gambling industry because whilst raising taxes on online casinos and fixed odds terminals, the Chancellor decided to reduce taxes on bingo. Very much a budget of mixed messages for supporters and opponents of gambling.