The European online gambling industry has had many months to prepare for the enforcement of new regulations set forth by the UK Gambling Commission that would require online poker and gambling companies to be licensed in – and taxed by – the United Kingdom, if they wish to accept UK customers. The deadline for license application submissions was September 15th, with the new rules effective as of October 1st. Thanks to a legal challenge from the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA), the date of enforcement has been pushed back to November.
OnlinePokerRealMoney.co.uk tries to dispel some legal confusions stemming from passage of George Bush's UIGEA of 2006 . Federal status seems to depend on interpretation of the wire act and other laws which were crafted many years ago and which remained high level in nature. The United Kingdom has much clearer laws including their own real money gambling commission .
The GBGA filed a challenge to the UK’s new regulations in the High Court back in late August. Realistically, there aren’t many who anticipate the court to rule in favor of the British Overseas Territory, considered a tax haven for much of the European online gambling industry, but that doesn’t change the fact that the UK cannot enforce a law that is under scrutiny of the High Court. The delay was insurmountable due to the declaration by Lord Justice Green that a ruling in the case by October 1st is highly improbable.
With the original deadline looming so close, however, many of the major competitors in the UK online poker market have already announced their decision to either continue accepting players from the region, or cease acceptance of UK customers. The first operator to make such a declaration was the Mansion Group, who chose a little bit of both. Mansion will cease online poker operations via Mansion Poker in the UK, but will continue to offer its multiple online casino offers in the area.
PokerStars was the next big operator to declare its regional intentions. The world’s largest poker site will continue to accept clientele from the United Kingdom and has planned to launch a UK-based website to that end, with a new software platform in the mix. PokerStars will continue sharing its player base among non-ring-fenced countries, including the UK, but there will be some changes in the software’s features, including the exclusion of auto re-buys for tournaments and auto top-ups at the cash games. A slight reduction in the VIP rewards scheme is also expected.
Full Tilt, the sister-site of PokerStars, finally announced its objectives on the matter Wednesday, having elected to also maintain its UK customer base. Like PokerStars, a UK-based website and software client is on the horizon.
Also on Wednesday, Carbon Poker, the flagship of the Merge Gaming Network, revealed that it will be exiting the UK online poker market. Customers were advised via email that as of September 30th, they will no longer be able to access the poker room for real-money play. UK members were asked to log into their Carbon Poker accounts and request a withdrawal of any remaining balances.
If and when the new regulations do take effect, online poker, casino, sportsbook and bingo operators that are not already licensed in the UK will be forced to stop accepting UK customers, or face threat of legal recourse. Those operators that obtain a license will be charged a 15% point-of-consumption tax on all bets placed by UK customers. The new tax rate is currently slated to go into effect in December.