Industry lobby group the Remote Gambling Association is to give evidence to MPs and peers on the government’s draft bill to regulate remote gambling in Great Britain on a place-of-consumption basis.
The London-based association, whose members include 888, bet365, Betfair, bwin.party, Paddy Power, Playtech, William Hill and Sportingbet, is a witness at the Department of Media Culture and Sports Select Committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny session on the new bill next Tuesday.
Also presenting evidence on the Draft Gambling (Licensing & Advertising) Bill on 29 January is the Sports Betting Group, which safeguards the integrity interests of sports governing bodies, and Christian charity CARE, which has historically opposed online gambling.
The joint Commons and Lords Committee will report on the bill with suggested changes to its drafting and its provisions. While the government does not have to act on its recommendations, the Committee’s report usually shapes debate on the bill during its passage.
The government published its bill to amend the 2005 Gambling Act back in early December, when it was also notified to the European Commission. The Commission’s standstill period set aside for its review of the proposed new regulations is due to expire on 4 March, but could be extended by a further month if another Member State issues a detailed opinion against the draft.
The UK government last week also responded to last July’s DCMS Select Committee report on its plans to overhaul the 2005 Gambling Act, stressing the importance of adhering to its December 2014 deadline for implementing a place-of-consumption (POC) regulatory and tax regime for egaming.
The actual level of the accompanying POC tax has however yet to be established, with the government admitting that Treasury still needed “to work with industry stakeholders to establish the correct level for online gambling taxation, taking into account the need to encourage companies to accept UK regulation and taxation and to discourage the formation of a grey market.”
RGA member William Hill argued in its formal response to the proposals two weeks ago that the POC tax ran the risk of creating a large unregulated grey market, pushing up to 40% of customers to such sites if the new regime was based on the current rate of 15% of gross profits.
Article written by Stephen Carter
