28% of gamblers in the United Kingdom could head for the black market if plans for tax harmonisation are made official.
According to a new YouGov survey commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), nearly a third of gamblers will abandon regulated UK betting sites if the government moves forward with devastating changes to how online gambling is taxed.
Traffic to offshore sportsbooks could be on the rise in the UK in the near future and there’s no doubt the proposed alteration would result in a big hit for the industry.
The British Horseracing Authority recently demanded that racing betting should continue to be taxed separately, fearing losses of as much as £160 million a year.
BGC Warn Dangers Of ‘Catastrophic’ Tax Increase
Grainne Hurst, CEO of the BGC, said in a statement: “Balanced regulations and a stable tax regime are the best defence against the black market.
“This is a wake-up call for government, punters have been loud and clear, hit them with further taxes and they will walk away from the legal, regulated market, straight to the black market, triggering a spiral of decline which raises less tax, and undermines player protections.”
What Are The Proposed Gambling Tax Changes?
As it stands, online gambling is taxed in two categories – a general betting duty that covers racing and pool betting, taxed at 15% of gross profits – and a remote gaming duty that covers casino games taxed at 21%.
The government want to harmonise all online gambling into a single tax called remote betting and gaming duty (RBGD).
This would result in a huge increase to the tax rate and if racing was levied at 21% that would result in online casinos having to pay an extra £40 million on the sport alone.
The BHA, alongside the BGC believe this could cause irreparable damage to racing, threatening thousands of jobs.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
