How Brexit will affect online gambling and casinos

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will know that the United Kingdom’s population voted in a referendum in 2016 to leave the European Union. Many gamblers and punters have been worried about the potential consequences of this for their gambling, especially considering the importance of Gibraltar for regulation and licensing. In this article, we will take a look at how Brexit will affect online gambling and casinos.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is the location for many gambling companies’ head offices. The decision to make Gibraltar the head office location is straightforward for any company that can afford to have it there.

Firstly, there is a considerable amount of people who work in the gambling industry. This means that there is a solid number of workers who are specifically qualified to work at gambling companies.

The other reason and the most attractive is the taxation rate. Gambling companies are taxed a lot less in Gibraltar and it is their technique to avoid paying too much.

Gibraltar is still a part of the United Kingdom and the population of Gibraltar continues to vote heavily in favour of staying a part of the United Kingdom, so it is unlikely that this will change any time soon. However, Brexit could lead to several issues.

The Spanish government could choose to end the free movement between Spain and the little rock. The importance of this can not be understated: more than half of gambling company employees in Gibraltar commute from Spain every day. This could easily lead to bookmakers being forced to change location for their headquarters. Many of the best online casino options in Ireland are operated by companies based in Gibraltar; Betvictor, Bet365, Boylesports etc and these companies could seek to move location elsewhere.

Whether the taxation rate stays the same is very difficult to predict. Depending on Spain’s position, there could be reason to increase the taxation rate or even possibly decrease it.

If gambling companies are forced to relocate, then the two effects that gamblers are likely to experience are a small number of gambling companies declaring bankruptcy and potentially less profitable offers as companies will be less likely to offer them. Equally, gambling companies could potentially move to another tax haven.

Regulation and licensing

Luckily for British gamblers, the UK has always been separated from the rest of the EU for everything related to regulation and licensing, whether it be sports betting, online casinos or anything else. For example, in the UK, you can sign up to an online casino with just proof of address and a photo of legal identification, but in several EU countries like France, you need a letter to be sent to your home to start your account.

In this respect, very little is likely to change when it comes to the regulation and licensing that gambling companies must respect. If anything, it is probable that the British and the European companies will continue to differ more and more, and then almost any interaction between UK gambling companies and EU gambling companies will become impossible.

This is unlikely to impact any gamblers in a way that they will notice. If the European Union becomes stricter about gambling and the US keeps the position on gambling they currently have, the UK could become one of the best places for all forms of gambling in the world.

Potential other exits

One possible consequence of Brexit could be that it becomes an example to other countries. If a country with the influence and the economy of the UK can leave the EU and do well, then other countries are likely to follow suit.

If this does happen, then each country is likely to have their own legislation and licensing for gambling. This should not have a massive effect on British punters; however, it makes any coordination between gambling companies of different countries to be a lot trickier. It also means that only national gambling companies will be available, but the UK does already have a decent amount of companies operating already.

Conclusion

It is very difficult to say with any kind of certainty what will happen to the gambling industry after Brexit. Gibraltar will be probably the most affected, and it could potentially lose many companies who would leave as Gibraltar would no longer be such an effective region to run a gambling company from.

For the average gambler, not much will change in the short term as licensing has always been particular to the UK, which is an advantage. In the long term, there could be reduced competitivity as well as a decrease in promotions, but this is still to be seen.

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