Tax revenue up in the UK

11/05/19

A report from the HMRC studied how much the UK government collected in tax revenue in the six months to September 30.

UK.- HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has released a report in which it detailed tax revenue from the six months up to September 30. The UK Betting & Gaming Statistics report shows that tax revenue increased 0.5% year-over-year to £143 million approximately.

While the total wasn’t much different from the one a year back, the changes are noticeable when verticals are analysed. One of the biggest differences can be seen in the online casino tax vertical. The activity rose from 18.1% to 22.7% from April to September to £332.4 million, representing a 26% increase.

Remote Gaming Duty increased by 26% compared to the previous period, potentially linked to the increased rate of 21% from April 21. The 2019/20 year-to-date Machine Gaming Duty decreased by 24.3% compared to last year, potentially linked to the policy changes from April 2019.

Moreover, Record Lottery Duty in September 2019 of £90.7 million was likely driven by a larger than normal rollover prize during that period.

UKGC says more needs to be done to raise standards

Neil McArthur, chief executive of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), recently participated in the ARQ Gaming Compliance Forum in Malta. During the forum, the CEO discussed current compliance and highlighted that the market needs more standards among gambling businesses that target British consumers but are based overseas.

McArthur covered three broad issues, including the current situation of the industry, the priorities and emerging issues and opportunities to collaborate. He said that they have found that compliance activity has not been good enough.

UKGC undertook an investigation in 2018 in which it asked 45 of 123 online casino operators to submit an action plan to raise compliance standards. Another 14 online casino operators were the subject of enforcement investigations, where 7 paid over €20 million in penalty packages, 5 surrendered their licences and 3 PMLs also gave up their permits.