UK Government Planning To Tax Free Spins At Online Casinos
The UK Government are looking to reintroduce a duty tax on free spins along with related discounts. The bill was due to go ahead but it was removed just before the general election. It has been discussed during autumn last year and looks set to become law within the near future.
With the free spins tax back on the table it has many online casinos worried how it will affect their bottom line. Operators rely on these promotions to entice new players to join their site in the hope they eventually become a depositing player.
The proposal was made by HMRC who created a policy paper back in September 2016. In it was proposed that to bring casino promotions such as free spins in line with other betting duty taxes one needed to be introduced to cover these incentives.
The bill for the additional tax is called the remote gaming duty and it was due to be included in the Finance Act 2017 during March along with a number of extra legislations that were introduced. There were many MPs that argued against the Duty been implemented and due to the upcoming general election, there was not enough time to completely debate all the complex issues to overcome.
HMRC estimate that the additional duty will raise around 45 million in revenue and could rise to as much as 110 million per year within the next 3 years. The extra tax will affect the bottom line of most online casinos and they will need to come up with new ways to attract players. Many promotions offered are loss leaders to attract new players and the duty costs will make this less affordable.
There has not been much discussion in the industry about this new free spins tax and many operators are completely unaware. At present one concession is included in the legislation that allows free promotions to only taxed once. This means that any re-bets made will not be applicable to pay duty tax.
The gambling industry in the UK is worth billions of pounds per year and is one of the most competitive sectors in the world. Promotions such a free spins and bets are an essential part of attracting new players along with retaining them. It will have an impact on the types of offers they are able to use that are cost effective marketing tools.
If you enjoy playing at online casino games now is the best time to take advantage of the amazing promotions on offer before the duty tax is introduced. UK best casino sites have a great choice of promos that players can use to get free spins. Once the tax becomes legislation the available offers will not be high as they present so make sure you do not miss out.