[F I N A N C E
NEWS
]
RGA: POC TAX RATE NOT SET IN STONE
Treasury ministers could yet amend proposed 15% gross profits tax
Government Treasury ministers have yet to
fully commit to a point of consumption
(PoC) tax rate of 15% and are still
assessing the case for a lower levy,
according to the Remote Gambling
Association (RGA).
Despite August’s draft regulation
including a provision for a 15% tax on
all remote gaming revenues from UK
customers commencing December 2014,
RGA chief executive Clive Hawkswood
told eGaming Review that the battle for a
lower rate of tax hasn’t come to an end.
“A 15% tax rate is the message they
are giving to everybody but they are
considering our submissions, which
proposes a tax rate of no more than 10%,”
Hawkswood said.
In September, accountancy giant
KPMG released an RGA-commissioned
report which concluded a tax rate of 15%
could put operators out of business and
instead proposed a levy of no more than
10%.
The RGA and a number of
representatives from gaming operators
have been in regular contact with
the Treasury on this and a number of
other issues relating to PoC over the
last few months and have been buoyed
by ministers’ willingness to engage in
discussion.
However, should the 15% rate remain
in place for implementation next year, the
Treasury has indicated that it would be
willing to review the rate further down the
line, although Hawkswood said this might
not come soon enough.
“What they have told us is that they
could look at it again after a year to see how
the first 12 months pan out but we have
informed them that a year may be too late
and the damage caused irreversible,” he
said.
SKY BET RECORDS 20% FIRST
QUARTER REVENUE GROWTH
Egaming operator sees growth on the back of a strong mobile performance
Alderney-licensed Sky Betting and Gaming
has seen net revenue grow 20% yearon-year in Q1 2014, driven by strong
performance from mobile and its focus on
the UK market.
The operator’s parent company BSkyB
did not release figures for its egaming arm,
but Sky Betting and Gaming managing
director Richard Flint confirmed the
operator had seen approximately 20% net
revenue growth, with its mobile product
having performed strongly.
“We’ve got a very good product and an
industry leading product which you can
see by the ratings in the app store,” Flint
14
said. “Sky has got a good reputation and
profile in mobile apps and it helps being
part of that.
“I think it’s also fair to say that our
internet product was not as good as some
of our competitors,” he added. “Now
we’ve got a product which is as good, or
even better, than the competition and the
customers have moved across to that.”
The back end of Sky Bet’s mobile offering
is currently run by software provider
OpenBet, with the front end being brought
in-house from Mobenga, which Flint said
had given the operator more control and
flexibility.
NEWS
IN BRIEF
Betfair criticises big
four over horseracing levy
fund deal
Betfair has criticised the UK’s
four largest retail bookmakers
and accused them of
intentionally ignoring their
online revenues when agreeing
to make payments to the
Horserace Betting Levy Board
(HBLB). The operator claims
the annual sum is a “fraction”
of what would be payable if
the four bookmakers made a
contribution based on their
online businesses.
Sportsbook leapfrogs
poker as Playtech Q3
revenues rise 16%
Playtech saw a 16% year-onyear rise in overall Q3 revenues
to €90.6m, during a period in
which sport overtook poker
to become the Israeli software
supplier’s third largest vertical.
Current trading remains st