In 2001, Gordon Brown and company switched the British tax laws around to allow punters to enjoy
tax free betting. Prior to that time, punters had to pay a nine percent tax on bets
placed in the UK. The nine percent tax was replaced with a 15 percent tax on bookmakers’ profits.
While this may not have initially seemed like a boon to bookmakers, it served the purpose of
abolishing many perceived and actual borders within the gaming industry. Collecting the tax had
always been an inefficient process and it functioned as a barrier to foreigners who wanted to lay
wagers with UK bookmakers. As a result, the bookmakers had felt that they were restricted
in their ability to expand their market. Thus, they were willing to pay more tax as a way of
gaining access to a broader market and bringing in more money net overall.
As a result, this allowed serious investment in the expansion of the gaming industry. It is not
wholly a coincidence that it was around this time that the online betting exchanges really
began to sprout and take hold as real players in the market place. The changed laws allowed this to
be possible, and more especially allowed the speed with which it happened.
The expansion of the gaming industry in this way alarmed some. They felt that the government
and the Gaming commission were not doing enough to protect the public. However, with addiction
treatment referral a mandatory text, websites were doing all they needed to do to be in compliance.
Others were quite pleased to see the gaming industry expand. The move created quite a bit of extra
money moving about the country, stimulating the economy. Most of the online sites had
offline customer service offices, and these jobs have proven to be relatively stable.
Coupled with the increased opportunities for work as bookies and sports book managers,
and the expansion of the industry was seen as an economic gift in many areas.
Over time, there has been no doubt that the abolition of the form tax on bets has been a relief for
punters. While the bookies are paying more, they are not wholly miserable about the
situation either as they got to have their market expansion. The gaming industry grew and
provided more jobs for British citizens, so the perceived economic benefit of the move has been
positive.
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