WEBMASTER NEWS
UK REMOTE GAMBLING MARKET CONTINUES TO GROW
THE UK GAMBLING COMMISSION( UKGC) has released its statistics for the UK gambling market between October 2015 and September 2016, with the remote sector making up 32 % of the overall market and £ 4.5bn(€ 5.2bn /$ 5.8bn) total gross gambling yield( GGY).
The remote sector increased £ 4.5bn GGY from £ 4.2bn GGY for the previous year and casino games generated the highest turnover and £ 2.4bn in GGY, primarily through slots games which accounted for £ 1.6bn.
The UKGC said that for the gambling industry as a whole in the UK the GGY stood at £ 13.8bn, an increase of 2.9 % compared with the previous year.
The only areas which did not see growth were bingo and the National Lottery.
In land-based gaming, the overall number of gaming machines across the industry decreased slightly to 176,410, but with a continued increase in machine GGY in all sectors, except bingo.
Betting shops are facing a FOBT crackdown but the UKGC noted that for the period they continued to generate the highest machines GGY at £ 1.8bn.
Meanwhile in its“ Betting, Gaming and Lottery Duties " bulletin, the HMRC reported that remote gaming duty( RGD) receipts had grown 6.2 % to £ 357m in the year ending March 2017.
IRELAND CONSIDERS SWITCHING BETTING TAX TO PUNTERS
IRELAND’ S FINANCE DEPARTMENT has launched a consultation into possible changes to gambling tax laws in the country.
According to Tax-News. com, the consultation will run as part of the Tax Strategy Group Process and look at the introduction of the current duty regime to remote operators and betting exchanges in 2015.
Due to run until June 19, the consultation will also consider the likely impact of an increase in betting duty rates on Irish Exchequer revenue and the betting industry as a whole.
One of the key aspects that will be looked at during the process is the possibility of moving a portion of the tax burden from the bookmaker to the punter, so that either a percentage tax will be introduced on all bets placed and will be paid by the punter, or a higher tax on winnings, to be paid by punters. The consultation will also look at whether the existing model of turnover tax is the most appropriate for the industry, and if the country should look at different approaches to betting exchanges.
In addition, the Finance Department will focus on the appropriate level of betting tax and equivalent tax on betting exchange commissions.
PADDY POWER IN MARKET-FIRST WITH FACEBOOK MESSENGER CHATBOT
PADDY POWER HAS BECOME the first bookmaker to go live with a new chatbot that enables customers to place bets directly through the Facebook Messenger mobile application.
Developed by bet messaging platform provider Onionsack, the chatbot allows punters to log in to their Paddy Power betting account via the app, as well as check their balance and place bets.
Paddy Power customers can write a message detailing the bet they wish to place, and the Onionsack platform understands this and executes transactions on their behalf.
Punters can also receive personalised sporting updates via push notifications, as well as access Paddy Power’ s various videos, blogs and podcasts.
Facebook Messenger is the messaging service of social media platform Facebook.
Michael Healy, product director at Paddy Power, said:“ We know our customers love mobile messaging apps so having a ChatBot on Facebook Messenger is the obvious first step into the ChatBot marketplace.
“ Nearly all of Paddy Power’ s customers are on Facebook, and now they can actually place a bet through the Facebook Messenger app with ease.
“ Our customers will be able to request odds and receive push notifications tailored to their own betting interests, plus enjoy a daily serving of Paddy Power mischief and entertainment.”
Jonathan Power, chief executive of Onionsack, added:“ We expect more bookmakers to launch their chatbots in the near future, as it provides a simple and more personalised way of betting.”
BINARY OPTIONS FIRM OWNER ARRESTED IN TEL AVIV
ELIRAN SAADA of binary options company Express Target Marketing has been arrested in Tel Aviv, according to the site FinanceFeeds, and will face a magistrate on account of fraud, blackmail, making threats and operating a false trading system.
Express Target Marketing operated the SecuredOptions and InsideOption binary options brands. Saada was arrested following a complaint to the police by a woman based in Singapore who had reportedly lost more than $ 500,000.
This is not the first time Eliran Saada’ s companies have been reported to authorities. In November The Times of Israel reported that Swedish brothers had tracked SecuredOptions down to Israel after losing close to € 100,000 and had lodged a police complaint.
Investors have in the past accused some binary options firms of performing account transfers without client approval and in some cases stopping clients from withdrawing their own funds.
However, Saada ' s arrest is the first since Israeli authorities announced a crackdown on binary option companies. Israel became the first country to ban the domestic sale of binary options last year. It has compiled a draft law also preventing them from being sold internationally which is pending parliament approval.
The head of Israel ' s financial regulator also said in November he was working with authorities in the US, UK, France and Belgium to investigate complaints against Israeli firms selling binary options internationally.
6 iGB Affiliate Issue 63 JUN / JUL 2017