Ladbrokes, William Hill and Betfair all ready to move offshore.
Ralph Topping, William Hill CEO, said: “We face worldwide competition from 400 or so English-language betting websites. In these circumstances, clearly we do not have the luxury of being parochial about our future or taking a simplistic stance on complicated issues.”
Chris Bell, Ladbrokes Chief Executive, expressed an even stronger disappointment: “Ladbrokes.com is the biggest in the UK market but faces aggressive competition from offshore operators who hold a very significant cost advantage by operating from low-tax jurisdictions. Operating from the UK has become unsustainable.”
And while Skybet is understood to have moved to Guernsey last week, leading betting exchange Betfair did not rule out a move offshore publicly opposing the UK Treasury\’s online gambling tax rates.
In related news, the Football Association said that if high street bookmakers go ahead with the exodus to Gibraltar, football faces an increased threat of match-fixing and gambling-related corruption.
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