Fortune Lounge Group, which owns some of the largest internet casinos, exited the UK market as a result of UK gambling reform.

BUFFALO, NEW YORK, USA, September 29, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In light of newly proposed changes to UK gambling regulations, the iGaming industry has experienced a major shakeup over the last few weeks as a number of high profile operators have withdrawn from the market. Popular operators that have officially confirmed their exodus from the UK include the Mansion Group, Winamax, Carbon Poker, and most recently according to this news article, The Fortune Lounge group will also suspend its services to players within the United Kindgom. Fortune Lounge’s operations included a number of highly popular casinos that will no longer be accepting UK players should the law pass on November 1st as currently proposed by UK legislators.

The crux of the issue in the newly proposed regulation under the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act that proposes a number of key changes in how gambling companies would do business within the United Kingdom. Until this point, many gambling companies have provided real money services to players in the UK while be licensed in foreign jurisdictions, thus avoid income taxes inside the UK. Under the new regulations, offshore operators would need to apply for a UK operator license and pay a 15% consumption tax on all revenues that are generated by players inside the United Kingdom.

The move is being proposed as a change to protect consumers, regulate the industry and provide additional tax revenues for the country but many believe it’s simply a cash grab for the Government. The changes were originally scheduled to be put in place on October 1st, 2014 but the motion has been stalled by a challenge from the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association who is taking the UK Gov to court over the issue, putting forward a number of claims about the true intentions of these regulations.
The main accusation by the Gibraltar Association is that the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act of 2014 is “unlawful, because it is an illegitimate, disproportionate and discriminatory interference with the right to free movement of services guaranteed by Article 56 TFEU, and is irrational.” The concern of the GBGA is that this level of regulatory involvement by the UK Government will have a detrimental effect of the jurisdiction which is currently a hugely popular area for the headquarters of many iGaming companies. Should this legislation be passed, the fear is that many of these businesses may withdraw from the UK market and decide it’s best to move their operations to more friendly jurisdictions.

Speaking on behalf of SlotsForMoney.com, lead writer and contributor Simon Turner commented on the proposed changes by the UK Gambling Commission stating, “The newly proposed changes are ridiculous and this is clearly a backhanded attempt at a cash grab in a highly lucrative industry. If you look to other markets where Government has tried to get involved in iGaming, they’ve failed miserably. Let private companies do what they do best without interfering and our industry will thrive and continue to grow”.

The new date for a decision on the legislation has been postponed to November 1st, 2014 when then High Courts in the UK will determine whether the claims brought forward by the GBGA have any validity in stopping this transition from happening.

While a good deal of operators have made their positions clear that they will leave should this happen, some of the bigger brands like PokerStars.com and Full Tilt Poker have remained committed to providing services within the market. According to Amaya Gaming, the company that recently purchased both entities for over $4B a few months back, the company will begin operating exclusive on a separate .co.uk domain, with only minor changes occurring to the reward plans that UK players currently have.

Time will tell what happens to the future of iGaming in the UK but it’s expected that should this succeed in the UK many other countries will look to implement similar restrictions in order to generate more revenues in these fledgling economic times.

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Simon Turner
SlotsForMoney.com
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