Reports coming from the U.K. indicate that the government is looking into regulating electronic gambling advertising. According to a recent Lowtax.net article, the U.K. Treasury wants to ban gambling-related teletext advertising despite a high court victory for Victor Chandler International that upheld the sports betting firm's right to advertise using this medium.
"Her Majesty's Treasury and Lord Chancellor are looking into proposals with regards to this," said Christopher Gilroy, a Home Office official. "There will be a full announcement during the Lord Chancellor's speech to the House of Commons during April next year when he announces the new UK
budget," he added.
Government officials are also biting their nails because several big betting companies have headed offshore, taking major tax revenues with them. Officials have bandied about ways to recoup the lost money, such as levying taxes on phone calls to offshore facilities and efforts to collect corporate taxes from "controlled overseas corporations."
The Home Secretary has also proposed a "Gambling Review Board" that will examine the U.K. gambling industry, with a close eye on the net betting industry. A new regulatory structure is expected to be a result of the independent review body.
Offshore businesses need to watch for additional taxing problems. The European Union wants to eliminate "unfair tax competition" by forcing low tax jurisdictions to fall in line with countries charging high-taxes. The EU initiative would only affect member countries, like Gibraltar, however.