Regulation round-up 17 January 2017
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (11 January to 17 January 2017)
UK government confirms racing levy scheme
Offshore and onshore operators to be taxed 10% of gross profits from all bets by UK customers on British races
Operators will be taxed 10% on all profits derived from bets placed on British horseracing as part of the UK government’s revamped Levy scheme.
The scheme, which comes into effect on 1 April, replaces the retail-only Horserace Betting Levy and will for the first time be applied to offshore betting companies, in an effort to boost funding for UK racing.
Under the new levy, both onshore and offshore operators will be required to pay 10% of gross gambling yield (total stakes minus winnings paid out) derived from the sport, above the first £500,000 of profits.
The move will see the Horserace Betting Levy Board closed and the Gambling Commission responsible for collecting the Levy from early 2018 onwards, and will then pass on the funding to a nominated Racing Authority acting on behalf of the racing industry.
Bet365 first to claim remote Cypriot licence
Bet365 has become the first operator to go live in the newly regulated Cypriot online market after the country’s regulator rubber-stamped the firm’s licence application.
The licensure means bet365 is now operating within Cyprus’ new regulatory framework and also paying what is effectively a 13% net revenue tax – a 10% gaming levy, a 2% contribution to Cypriot sport federations and 1% towards problem gambling programmes.
Until earlier this month, bet365 had been operating under a transitional licence, along with a number of other operators which had declared their interest in operating under the new regulatory regime.
Seven days in regulation:
888 pulls poker product from Australia
888 Holdings has pulled its poker product from Australia this week, ahead of a potential crackdown on non-sports betting operators.
The operator emailed its Australian customers last week saying accounts would be closed Monday and all funds should be withdrawn.
Yaniv Sherman, 888’s head of business development, told EGR Intel yesterday: “There is nothing special about today, we always had a limited offering in that market anyway so there was limited potential.
“The market is going in another direction with no regulation in sight other than sport, so we made a business decision. It’s a small market for us anyway.”
New Jersey and Golden Nugget set new revenue records in December
New Jersey set a new record for online revenues in December, with the state’s five egaming operators recording a collective $18.4m.
The figure shattered the previous record of $17.4m, set back in July 2016, and represented a 31% year-on-year increase and a 6% increase on November.
Casino continued to flourish, with the vertical growing 35% year-on-year to $16.3m.
And poker ticked up just 6% to $2.1m, following the addition of PokerStars to the market, compared with the same period last year.