GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 29 - July 2014

Sportsbooks might also demand a differ- ent typeofvisitor traffic from theaffiliates they retain as a furtherway ofmitigating thehigher tax.Under a 15-percent betting tax regimeoperators cannot afford to sus- tain “unprofitable” accounts. “Unprofitable” could mean one of three things: 1. The account iswinning toomuch 2. The account doesnot bet frequently enough 3. The account bets at stakes so low it isn'tworthwhile for theoperator once tax isdeducted. These have always been issues for sports- books,but theycouldafford tobemore tol- erant of all three scenarioswhen theywere paying littlegambling tax.When the tax is hikedup to 15percent and costs suddenly become a key concern, then the tolerance levelsmaybe reduceddramatically. This lower tolerance is alreadybeing seen in some cases, in advance of the new tax rate. A recent free bet promotion (on the face of it a simple offer of “money back if the favorite wins” ) from one U.K. sports- book came with 18 terms and conditions attached, twoofwhichwere: “Please note that some customers may be excluded from this promotion due to staking restrictions.” “We reserve the right to withhold, restrict or cancel this offer from individual account hold- ers in accordance with its eligibility, promo- tion abuse and internal trading riskpolicies at its own discretion andwithout prior notice.” Punters should expect further restrictions and knockbacks on their bets under the new regime after the summer and they won’t have to be big-staking high rollers to experience it. Punters will be disgrun- tled,which in turn could reverberateback to affiliates. Some readersmight be thinking this does not apply to them because they’re not sportsbook affiliates or they don’t work with theU.K.market. But the secondpart of the U.K. regulation – a requirement for 27 Affiliates, get ready: The tax clock is ticking