by Ryan D. Jaeger
One of the main issues concerning the UK government Department for
Culture, Media and Sport is the fact that offshore gambling operators are not as
accountable to the country's regulatory system as it would like them to be.
A leaked report has revealed that the UK government is working towards
creating a tiered licensing system that would secure "fair contributions from
overseas licensed operators towards the cost of regulation".
The secondary licensing regime would also help the government put a halt to
concerns about match fixing in sports since offshore groups are not required by
law to share information about suspicious betting patterns.
The latest news is of major importance to gaming groups such as William Hill
and Ladbrokes who moved their operations to Gibraltar, citing an increasingly
competitive market and high taxation in the UK.
Reports are that the new system would require even offshore bookmakers to be
licensed in the United Kingdom and failure to apply for a UK license would
result in the company being banned from marketing their services in the country.
Offshore groups will not be expected to contribute towards the horse racing
levy that UK operators currently pay.
The report states that offshore online casinos would need to pay a particular
fee and would also be forced to share any suspicious betting patterns.
The Remote Gambling Association said that many offshore companies already
share information with the Gambling Commission and that paying a fee should not
deter operators.
"The reason our companies are offshore is not because of the Gambling
Commission, but because of tax," said Clive Hawkswood of the RGA. "If they
wanted to go for this dual licensing approach, we'd have to sit down and work
through the detail."
