Last week it was reported that online casinos in the United Kingdom are seeking refuge at other locations.  William Hill, Ladbrokes, and several other online British bookmakers are going to make the move to offshore locations.  The United Kingdom has increased the taxes these online casinos have to pay.  As a result of the changes made, the online casinos want to have a place that is more affordable.  The offshore locations not only offer better taxes, but they are less regulated.  William Hill has already made the move. They will have their headquarters in Gibraltar.  Ladbrokes and the other online casinos in the United Kingdom have stated they will do the same.

Both William Hill and Ladbrokes have stated that their move is mostly based on the taxation they face.  In the United Kingdom they are paying 15 percent tax rate.  The offshore location is charging 1.5 percent for tax.  That is definitely a significant difference.  Gibraltar’s policy encourages the online casino companies to move to their location.  It has always been lower than the United Kingdom and pledges to stay that way.  Ladbrokes Chief Executive stated that the taxes in the United Kingdom are just unsustainable for any business trying to make a profit in the online casino world.

The secondary issue that many are having with the move is the greater effect that could result.  As stated the regulations in Gibraltar are less than what is faced in the United Kingdom.  Some believe these lower regulations may cause issues with certain aspects of the online casinos operations.  The British Sports League is just one of the many concerned entities.  They feel the lower regulations could open the online sports book up to fixed games.  It is more difficult to get information on a suspicious betting pattern.  In other words the online casinos will not have to report what they are seeing.

Of course the online casinos feel this is unfounded in light of the recent tennis games that were discovered as fixed.  The online casinos were more than happy to turn the players in.  The online casino realises that an unfair advantage would be found for most of their players, meaning that if their players discover the fixed games the casino would not be able to keep these players.  The online sportsbooks therefore stand to lose just as much as the UK sports leagues.