The Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 will now come into force on 1 November 2014. This was delayed from the intended date of 1 October 2014 due to a high court challenge.
The Act has a significant impact on online poker sites in the UK. From 1 November 2014 all the online poker sites serving British consumers must have an operating license from UK’s Gambling Commission. Prior to the act, only around 15% of online gambling sites had such a license.
There are obviously a number of requirements and costs involved with obtaining, and maintaining, such a license. As a result of this some poker sites will no longer serve British consumers. Winamax, the top online poker site in France, is one of the biggest to pull out.
On top of the requirements to obtain a license, the Act means that poker sites will have to pay a 15% point of consumption tax. This tax applies to any profits the poker sites make on UK players.
The high court challenge, which delayed the Act, was raised by the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA), who felt that the change in legislation was not fair. A number of the top online poker sites are currently licensed in Gibraltar and there are clearly some serious tax benefits to them for doing this. So it is no wonder the GBGA has challenged the Act. Some of the well-known poker sites that are members of the GBGA include; William Hill Poker, 888 Poker, Bet365 Poker, Party Poker, and Ladbrokes Poker.
The Act will have little impact on online poker players in the UK. One of the benefits of the Act is that poker players can report any suspicious activity directly to the Gambling Commission in the UK. This should increase the trust in playing on online poker sites within the UK, and should provide higher protection against lack of integrity by operators.