The Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill has received approval by Parliament and is going to receive Royal Assent soon. The Bill requires that all gambling operators, no matter where they are based, must hold a gambling licence from the Gambling Commission if they provide remote gambling services to consumers in the UK. The significant change in the law is that the licensing requirement has been changed from being based on the “point of consumption” (where a bet is placed) to the “point of supply” (where the operator is based). This means that once the law is passed, many overseas operators will fall under direct regulation by the Gambling Commission. The result will be that levies previously only due from UK based operators will now fall on overseas operators as well.
The Gambling Commission has also published changes to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice which set out the rules that gambling operators subject to UK gambling laws must adhere to. One of the changes implemented by the Commission is the requirement that remote gambling operators disclose where their “key equipment” is based and permission for relocation for this key equipment be a condition of their licence. Details of the proposed amendments to the Codes of Practice can be found here: http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/pdf/Proposed%20amendments%20to%20LCCP%20for%20all%20operators%20response%20part%20one.pdf.
As if these changes were not enough, the UK Government also has plans to make changes to the current tax regime for remote gambling, which will follow the same “point of consumption” approach as the new Bill.
