Rank Group Asks Treasury to Reconsider Gambling Tax
Rank Group
Rank Group, the company behind the online betting service, Blue Square, as well as the land-based Grosvenor casinos, has urged the UK treasury to reconsider the current legislation surrounding gambling taxation. Rank’s chief executive, Ian Burke suggested that at the moment, gambling companies are operating under a “patchwork quilt of taxation without any apparent logic or relationship to social policy.” Burke criticised the fact that land-based casino companies pay the highest rate of gambling related taxation, whereas offshore bookmakers, such as Betfair and Ladbrokes, pay 15% in UK tax.
The news comes after Betfair reached an agreement with the Tasmanian government with regards to future taxation plans. As Tasmania is one of the few UK government whitelisted jurisdictions, Betfair can advertise to UK residents, without having to pay any further UK taxes. Now one of the biggest online betting companies in the world, it’s believed that the Tasmanian government offered special “tax incentives” to the company in order to keep them on the island for the foreseeable future. Thanks to the new deal, state tax revenue in Tasmania will be reduced by AUD2 million (£1.17 million) in the next two years.
UPDATE: Betfair have kindly pointed out that they contribute 15% in tax to the treasury.
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Betfair's UK Tax Contribution
The statement made in this article that Betfair pays 0% tax in the UK is entirely false. Betfair is a UK-licensed online bookmaker and as such, we pay 15% gambling tax on gross profits from our UK business to the British Government, just like any other UK-licensed fixed-odds bookmaker. Betfair holds additional licenses in a number of jurisdictions internationally, including in Tasmania under which we operate our Australian business only.
Katie Fuller
Public Affairs Officer
Betfair