Tag Archives: jurisdictions
Offshore Online Casinos In Great Britain To Be Licensed Again
It’s been all quite in the UK gambling industry until the FullTilt bombshell exploded. Remember the scandal with the British players being unable to get their money from this poker website? Well, the Department of Culture, Media and Sports is now determined to protect all UK players against the evils of offshore online casinos.
It is really nice that the British government is so much concerned about the safety of its citizens’ hard earned money, but the question is: will British gamblers really benefit from a crackdown on non-UK based online casinos?
Supposedly, according to the new rules, all casino operators hoping to run a gambling business in the UK will have to submit applications to the Gambling Commission and obtain another licence. Although the Treasury is avoiding straightforward announcements, you will hardly find anyone who doesn’t understand the real reasons for this interference. It’s just the first step towards reclaiming taxes that had been lost when many of the UK online casinos went offshore.
Even some industry giants have moved to smaller jurisdictions in order to avoid really high UK taxation. They wanted to be able to effectively compete with offshore online casinos and now it looks like they will have to consider moving back.
In addition, the new licensing scheme may lead to the annulment of the so-called “white list”, which used to put online casino operators licensed in one of the named jurisdictions in a favourable position. With the introduction of the new law they will not be able to operate and/or advertise in the UK, unless they get a licence from the British Gambling Commission. For UK gamblers this may mean that the number of available online casinos will be significantly reduced.
Michael Caselli, one of the worlds leading experts on online gaming and an editor of iGaming Business magazine, said: “The tax rate pretty much relates to how much less value the punter gets. A 10% tax rate is 10% less value for punters.” Indeed, British players will only lose if online casinos will want to compensate for their extra spending on taxes.
At the same time offshore gaming jurisdictions, such as Isle of Man seem to be unworried about the possible licensing changes. They believe they already adhere to high regulatory standards which are comparable to those in Britain and, as Allan Bell MHK, Isle of Man Economic Development Minister, noticed, “the UK Gambling Commission has no wish to duplicate the work that our Gambling Commission does in regulating our operators”.
Lotteries Set to Go Online
Lotteries Set to Go Online
The worldwide market for lotteries is hugs and over 200 jurisdictions around the world have official lotteries. In 2009 industry experts say that total global lottery revenues totaled about $240 billion USD. In the US where most states have lotteries total sales amounted to $52.4 billion in 2009 and are expected to rise in 2010. Lotteries also spend a lot of money on marketing and spend about $5 billion annually on advertising and promotions around the world. Most lottery jurisdictions implemented lotteries to supplement tax revenues and in the US most states spend lottery revenues on education or social services. Many jurisdictions have come to rely on lottery funds to support various government functions. During the current global recession lotteries have provided governments with much needed funds to fill empty state coffers.
Lottery ticket sales have increased by a modest 2% a year compared with double digit growth for casino and online gambling. In the US legislation has been introduced that would re legalize online gambling and provide the government with another revenue stream. In the US gambling sites are incredibly popular including lottery sites. Should federal law be changed it will clear the way for online lottery ticket sales which at present are blocked by vague regulations regarding online gambling. Online marketers stand to benefit from changes in the law as lotteries spend millions to promote their games online.
Thanks to the recession lottery ticket sales have slowed but there are other factors contributing to the slowdown in lotto ticket sales. Offshore gambling sites are siphoning off revenue from lotteries as more Americans go online to gamble and play foreign lotteries. In addition most lotteries have not introduced new games in years and player boredom has contributed to a decline in ticket sales. Mega jackpot lotteries such as Powerball and Mega Millions spark player interest when jackpots reach hundreds of millions but for some reason many lottery players are not interested in everyday jackpots of $20-$30 million and ticket sales fall.
Lottery demographics show that most regular lotto players are aging and for some reason many state lotteries have not been able to attract a younger player base. Thanks to flagging many states have had to cut marketing budgets resulting in flagging ticket sales. Most lottery industry experts say that allowing state lottery ticket sales in the US would result in an increase in sales. In Europe and New Zealand online lottery ticket sales have been popular with players and most players say convenience is a major factor in online lotto ticket purchases.