Pinnacle Sports Exits UK Market, Others Force to Lay Off Staff, Close Betting Shops
The United Kingdom government is set to begin enforcing new regulations for online gambling, beginning with a hefty tax increase.
The pending changes and increased taxation will go into effect October 1 though a grace period for application processing is being allowed for those operators based out of Alderney and the Isle of Man.
Curacao-based Pinnacle Sports, which exited the US market in 2007, has notified its UK customers they will no longer be able to bet for real money on the site effective September 30.
The Mansion Group, which includes Casino.com, has said it is in the process of applying for a United Kingdom issued license, however, the company will be laying off several hundred employees. Mansion is currently based out of Gibraltar with a satellite office in Tel Aviv, where most of the staff will be let go.
A 15% point-of-consumption tax will be implemented for all licensed online gambling firms as part of the new changes. Many companies have had to take drastic changes in order to protect their bottom lines.
Back in April, the UK’s largest bookmaker, William Hill, was forced to shut down some 109 betting shops as a result of the tax hike.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
