FAQs

Q: Will Betting Tax be reintroduced?

A: No chance. Betting Tax was introduced in 1968 at 2d in the pound, in the days when there were 240 to the pound! As with most taxes it increased gradually until it peaked at 10%. The advent of the internet has radically transformed the betting industry; whereas twenty years ago even a non-gambler could name the predominant bookmakers (Hills, Ladbrokes, Coral) as there was only a relative handful, there are now in excess of 370 available! Victor Chandler set up an operation in 1992, basing a call-centre in Gibraltar and offering “no tax” on bets placed through that medium. Naturally the other major players started to follow suit and as the industry grew the government came to an agreement with the bookmaking industry – abolition of betting tax in return for a levy on bookmakers’ profits. If any government was foolhardy enough to even consider the return of Betting Tax then virtually all the bookmakers would simply move their offices/servers offshore leaving the UK government with no income whatsoever – from the biggest business on the World Wide Web!