Under new UK gambling legislation, offshore internet casino companies will have to apply for licenses and pay taxes if they wish to continue providing services to UK players. The bill will be implemented in December of 2014.
The legislation was developed by HM Treasury and the Gaming Commission to control foreign companies and potential illegal sites as well as to keep account of the companies’ profits. The commission also seeks more control over gambling addiction by pursuing a better policy towards excessive betting behavior and underage gambling.
According to the soon-to-be law, taxes will be imposed only on revenues generated by UK gamblers, and the Commission is worried that UK companies will not declare their profits from gamblers outside the UK and limit themselves when declaring the corporation tax.
To avoid this, the financial firm, Deloitte, suggested the tax rate for online gambling be kept lower than 15%, so companies wouldn’t emigrate to tax havens. So far, there have been no official statements on the tax rate.
At the moment, HM Treasury is working on the new legislation with both the government and private companies to ensure the viability of the project.