Hurrah for William Hill! The continual disagreements between bookmakers and the UK government have rarely calmed down, and they’re heating up once again with a new tax proposal that will push gambling taxes up to 15% for betting companies, but the UK’s largest bookmaker William Hill is not going to back down this time.
The UK’s new ‘point of consumption tax’ will levy 15% on bookmakers, and will also force them to get a license for accepting betters in the UK. However William Hill unsurprisingly didn’t welcome the news, announcing in the press that they’ll fight the proposal due to the impact it’ll have on their profit margins
William Hill’s CEO Ralph Topping commented that the company will consider ‘every chance’ it has to make a challenge and will fight against the proposal.
In the past, there had been continual disagreements between the UK government and bookmakers on the topic of revenue taxes; however since the beginning of this year they have been on stand-by as the government promised to cut down taxation on gaming companies, to attract bookmakers back to the UK (at present most are physically located and licensed in Malta).
If the proposal is accepted, most bookmakers will continue to be established outside of the UK, so they may ask the European Gambling Commission to make a stand.
William Hill is the UK’s most prominent bookmaker and one of the few still based in London, together with Paddy Power and Ladbrokes. This year William Hill’s interim results have shown a 20% revenue increase and an 8% rise in operating profits. The company is also ranked as a leader in mobile gambling in the UK and Europe.