In early October the GBGA’s High Court challenge was rejected and the new UK Gambling (Licensing and advertising) Act was set to go into effect on the 1st November 2014.
The story doesn’t end at that point as the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) have now launched a second legal challenge to the introduction of new gaming regulations. This new legal action is over the legality of the betting and gaming duty provisions in Part 3 of the Finance Act 2014.
The GBGA are alleging the new Act breaches Article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) in that it restricts the free movement of services.
Peter Howlett, the Chief Executive of the GBGA explain his position,
“Mr Justice Green stated that raising revenues are not a justified reason under Article 56. The fact is that this tax regime has no legitimate purpose. Moreover, the tax is discriminatory and European law supports our position.”
“We believe this means their real aim is to ensure that the UK operators in this market are favoured, at the expense of law abiding and responsible operators outside of the UK. Given the risk to consumers, we have asked for an expedited hearing.”
“If responsible foreign operators are forced to raise prices, it is inevitable that many consumers will move to companies with no regulation and lower overheads. Rogue operators will be beyond the reach of UK law and consumers will face increased risks of fraud, non-payment and abuse.”
In the meantime, we’re seeing most eGaming businesses moving on with life and making the big decisions that are needed to progress their global strategies and the UK market.
The story continues to rumble on.
