Proposed new taxes on online gaming

Although not yet specifically relating to Irish online casino gamblers, the British government’s recently proposed changes to the licensing and taxation of online casino and gambling operators may cause concern. Certainly Ralph Topping, chief executive of William Hill, is not impressed and has warned that the proposals may even risk legal action in the future. William Hill relocated its online gambling operations to Gibraltar two years ago, along with many other online casino operators, but now face not only having to apply for a license from the Gambling Commission if they wish to continue attracting British customers, but are also threatened with having to pay tax on all bets placed by online gamblers from the UK. As yet the Irish government have not aired such tax proposals, but may find the idea attractive, given the current financial situation. Meanwhile William Hill have announced a 23% increase in pre-tax profits in the first half year, which appear to have been almost entirely driven by a huge increase in revenue from their online gambling operations. Whilst Ladbrokes’ recently announced results were not as strong, it is becoming increasingly clear that gambling online, whether at online casinos or online sports gambling, is growing very quickly and has become the primary focus of all the major bookmakers. The recent appointment of John O’Reilly as managing director of the interactive division of Coral, may also herald a major new force in the online gaming industry and we will be watching developments with interest.