UK budget to encourage online gambling

23 Feb 2007

British finance minister Gordon Brown will reveal a plan in his budget next month to encourage the online gambling industry, the Daily Telegraph reported on Friday.

He will use the March 21 budget to announce that companies could obtain a British license and still remain based overseas in return for a tax -- possibly as low as 2 percent or 3 percent, the newspaper said in an unsourced report.

Named a Remote Gaming Duty, the new tax would enable gambling firms to avoid paying British VAT, it said.

A comment was not immediately available from the Treasury.

Internet gaming groups will be able to relocate to Britain and obtain a license from September under the Gambling Act, the Telegraph said.

However, all have said they would decline the chance if it meant paying a tax on gross wins, it added.

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