The UK government is to increase Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) on UK-licensed operators to help cover an expected shortfall in tax revenue resulting from its pledge to slash maximum FOBT stakes from £100 to £2.
Whatever the increase in RGD, with the sector coming under increasing scrutiny, and now a less appealing tax environment, UK-based operators may want to look at other territories to make up for the fall in profits that they’re likely to suffer.
What are the options for operators? Owen Tustin gives you an overview of the current gaming landscape by country.
Spain: operators looking to target a new market with huge potential for growth could do a lot worse than consider Spain. For a multitude of reasons, the market in Spain has remained relatively small, but the signs are that things are starting to change.
Portugal: the Portuguese gaming regulator (SRIJ) opened a consultation into the country’s online gaming regulations in January, effectively putting the entire sector under review. The market up until this point has been stagnant, with regulation and high taxation rates making it very hard to drive any sort of margin through sports betting.
Germany: with the licensing debate still on-going, this creates much uncertainty around processing, especially in the wake of recent developments surrounding online casino, which led to a few high-profile operators pulling out of the market. Despite this, the German market still remains lucrative and is one of the largest in Europe.
Sweden: the Swedish government recently published its revamped national gambling policy, which will place a greater emphasis on consumer protection. The new legislation will also open a licensing window for online gambling operators, with the application process beginning on August 2018 and the new regulations coming into force on 1st January 2019.
United States: as has been widely reported, we’ve seen two US states (Delaware and New Jersey) take their first legal sports betting transactions over the past few weeks. Other states that have already passed legislation, such as Nevada and Pennsylvania, are likely to follow soon.
For the full list visit SBCNEWS.