GambleAware, the UK-based charity focused on reducing gambling harm, received GBP £10 million in donations from the gambling industry between April 2019 and March 2020.

According to the charity, which asks all companies profiting from gambling in the UK to donate a minimum of 0.1% of gross gambling yield per year, the biggest donations came from GVC (£1.4m), William Hill (£1m), Bet365 (£868K), and Sky Bet (£705K).

The £10m did not include funding from regulatory settlements, arranged via the UK Gambling Commission, of which GambleAware received a number during the period.

In one settlement, relating to a 2018 case regarding 41 misleading advertisements and marketing to people who had self-excluded, LeoVegas contributed £600K to the charity. Gamesys (Gibraltar) Ltd also paid £690K as part of a regulatory settlement relating to gambling harm and money laundering failures.

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Estonia is finding out imposing restrictions on gambling during the COVID-19 crisis can have serious implications, as tax revenue plummets and paralyses programs.

Concerned by the prospect of excessive gambling during the COVID-19 induced lockdowns, Estonian authorities imposed sharp restrictions on the country’s gambling industry.

However, those restrictions have resulted in gambling tax revenue crashing by a third during February, with an even bigger drop expected to be seen in March and April. Unfortunately, this means several social welfare projects, financed by gambling tax through the Ministry of Social Affairs, are now facing a funding shortfall.

Discussing the situation deputy secretary-general for social policy at the ministry, Rait Kuuse, said:

“The fall in gambling tax receipts will undoubtedly put great pressure on the ministry to finance agreed projects.

“Our goal, in cooperation with our partners, is to find an opportunity to continue the agreed activities and, if necessary, to make new decisions together in certain places, if, for example, the implementation of what was agreed proves impossible due to the implemented restrictions.

“We have asked all partners to review the activities planned for this year and to reevaluate which activities it is reasonable to realize in view of the emergency situation and whether anything can be postponed.”

According to the Tax and Customs Board (MTA), gambling tax receipts were distributed with 45% coming from lotteries, 34% from slot machines, 5% from casino gaming tables, 4% from toto, and 10% from online and remote gambling.

AYO.NEWS says:

With the clamour in many quarters to shut down or drastically reduce gambling during the COVID-19 crisis, the negative consequences are frequently overlooked. In many countries, the gambling industry makes a very important contribution to tax revenues – with tax often being ringfenced for education, social welfare, and other good causes.

Any restrictions, whether they be the closing of physical gambling venues or restrictions and limits applied to online gambling, coupled with the virtual cessation of sports betting, will have very real funding consequences for many projects.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

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The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has partnered with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to help combat match-fixing.

It is hoped the new data-sharing agreement between the MGA and the global cricket organisation, which represents more than 100 national governing bodies, will help protect the sport from potential match-fixing and other corruption.

Since 2000 the ICC has run its own dedicated Anti-Corruption Unit, as part of its Integrity Unit. With corruption still surprisingly common in cricket, the unit has been kept busy. For example, last December it carried out several investigations into the Qatar T10 League.

Commenting on the agreement MGA Sports Integrity Manager, Antonio Zerafa, said:

“This data-sharing agreement with the ICC represents the Authority’s on-going commitment of combating match-fixing and other types of manipulation in sports.

“In fact, this agreement will allow the MGA and ICC to share crucial data related to the process of detecting, preventing and investigating activities related to manipulation of sports competitions.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Though most live sport is cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis, its good to see organisations like the MGA and ICC use the downtime to strengthen anti-corruption measures. Hopefully, when things get back up and running, we’ll have a new, less corrupt sporting ecosphere.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

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A tribunal victory for Rank Group and Betfred against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has raised the possibility of British bookies getting refunds from the tax man.

VAT on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals

In a rare piece of good news for Britain’s embattled bookies, an Upper Tribunal led by Justice Anthony Mann and Judge Thomas Scott, has ruled in favour of the betting firms in their long running dispute with HMRC over the classification of VAT charges on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs).

The saga revolves around different interpretations of VAT exemptions relating to FOBTS. Basically, Rank Group and Betfred had argued that VAT charges on FOBTs were subject to tax exemptions in line with other casino games, because HMRC had not updated legislation or made any distinction in the supply of games specifically through FBOTs.  In fact, the bookies pointed out that HMRC did not update legislation to include FOBTs until as late as January 2013.

Rank Group challenged tax paid on the machines between 2002 and 2005, while Betfred’s case covered 2005 to 2013. The latest ruling is the third defeat on the issue for HMRC, which had lost two previous battles against the bookies.

In an official statement, Betfred said:

“This is a historical tax case where the Upper Tribunal has agreed with the original court decision in July 2018 that licensed betting offices were wrongly charged VAT on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals between 2005 and 2013 before the introduction of machine games duty.

“We will not be making any further comment as HMRC is still able to seek permission to have an appeal on the matter heard by the Court of Appeal.”

Rank now needs HMRC support

Staying with Rank Group, is has emerged the company has now furloughed almost 90% of its UK-based staff in response to the COVID-19 lockdown. The nearly 7,000 employees should still receive 80% of their salary if the UK governments job retention scheme is rolled out effectively.

Rank Group directors have also volunteered to take a 20% pay cut for the duration of the crisis. The company has estimated that, if its venues remain closed for an extended period, the groups annual underlying operating profit could fall between GBP £48m and £58m.

The company has said it is continuing to work to protect cash and prepare for the safe reopening of its venues, and that it remains optimistic it can “withstand an extended period of economic turmoil” with support from HM Treasury and HMRC.

AYO.NEWS says:

Though the latest ruling is the third defeat for HMRC, we very much doubt this will be the last of it. With tax revenues likely to plummet due to the unprecedented COVID-19 driven economic shutdown, no tax agency will be wanting to give money back.

However, for the bookies, times are equally as tough, and they will be keen to claw back any earnings they can. And, three victories will surely encourage other operators to pile in with similar claims.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

UK-based online bank Revolut has suspended all payments to and from UK gambling sites.

The fintech company says it has suspended all UK gambling payments through its popular app, in response to the UK Gambling Commission’s (UKGC) ban on credit card wagering.

In a statement, Revolut said:

“This applies to all non-remote general betting, pool betting and betting intermediary licences, and all remote licences. While many people gamble responsibly using a credit card, the aim of these new regulations is to help protect those most at risk from gambling money they do not have.”

As we previously reported, the long-awaited credit card wagering ban came into force earlier this week, on Tuesday 14 April 2020.

AYO.NEWS says:

Though UK operators and gamblers had largely come to terms with the idea of a credit card gambling ban, few probably expected popular services like Revolut to suspend gambling transactions.

Though, strictly speaking, the UKGC ban is for “credit card gambling through e-wallets”, it seems Revolut has deemed it either impractical or too risky to try and separate payment sources.

It all adds up to Nanny State UK letting the minority ruin things for the majority yet again.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

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Portugal is set to introduce online gambling restrictions for the duration of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis.

A bill demanding action to limit online gambling during the crisis, introduced by members of the environmentalist Partido das Pessoas, dos Animais e da Natureza (PAN), has been passed by the Portuguese parliament.

Though the bill doesn’t detail specific restrictions, it demands “partial or total limitations on access to online gambling platforms.” It also referenced neighbouring Spain, which has restricted audiovisual gambling communications to between 1am and 5am for the duration of the lockdown.

The authors of the bill claim that online gaming revenue has increased 18% year-on-year in Portugal since the country entered a state of emergency on 18 March.

The bill came into effect on 9 April, giving the Portuguese government five working days to introduce the regulations – which means they should be in effect from next Monday. The regulations will stay in effect until the state of emergency in the country is lifted.

The bill was supported by the governing Socialist Party, the Left Bloc, Unitary Democratic Coalition, the Libertal Initiative and Libre parties. It was, however, opposed by the main opposition party, the Social Democrats, along with the CDS People’s Party and Chego.

AYO.NEWS says:

As we have said before, the longer the COVID-19 crisis drags on, the more likely we are to see draconian online gambling restrictions and bans. In addition to Portugal and Spain, we’ve also seen weekly wagering limits introduced in Belgium, while Swedish operators have been warned of “extraordinary measures” unless they reduce online gambling activity, and regulators in the UK and Malta have urged operators to maintain the highest standards of social responsibility to avoid further measures.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

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