A few days ago, UK high street bookmakers were expecting a raise in the machine games duty. But, George Osborne, the chancellor in the country, announced that UK operators might be required to pay a free bet tax as of August 2017. The proposal, however, still needs to be debated on. If passed into law, online bingo rooms and casinos will have to pay 15 percent general betting duty on free or discounted bets.
So far operators are freed from the 15 percent point of consumption tax which was introduced in the last six months of 2014. Online gambling operators now have more than a year to prepare for the free bet tax, so there is still time to refine their free bets.
The newly proposed tax makes no distinction between betting on sports, playing bingo and casino games. Bingo operators were already paying a 15 percent POCT on their online gaming revenue generated from UK players. According to the chancellor, the tax will close loopholes and won’t hurt operators.
However, the free bet tax must be approved first before bingo and casino operators in the UK will actually have to pay for it. There is also the possibility that the new tax won’t be implemented and everything will remain as it is. Only time will tell about this.
Nevertheless, the proposed tax wasn’t welcomed by casinos and other gambling operators. The only party that was relieved by it was the shareholders. They have already wanted stricter measures such as more restrictions on online advertizing or higher taxes. A year ago when the point of consumption tax was introduced, the revenue of UK operators dropped and some even indicated losses.