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The Possible Impact of Brexit on the iGaming Industry

10 June 2019, 11:26 CET

We always hear about the negative side of the gambling industry - how it causes people to become addicted to gambling to such an extent that they lose homes and families, and blaming a faceless industry can be easier than addressing the human side of addiction, addressing the person themselves as the cause rather than blaming the tools they use to get into bother.

Take the UK as a prime example of how the gambling industry can actually benefit the country's economy by contributing millions to the national budget – and the threat of Brexit and the ensuing monetary damage means one of the largest sources of revenue to the UK will be severely disrupted with possible long-lasting effects on the local economy.

Not only will taxes and license payments increase for the operators we could see multiple UK industries taking a hit to their profitability and this means whoever is in government at the time will have to adjust the tax laws within the UK, but it's not only the UK based industries that will suffer, protectorates like Gibraltar will also find itself in turmoil.

Gibraltarians voted to remain as part of the UK – it has a massive ex-pat community but also Gibraltarians also voted to stay in the European Union.

The relationship between the UK and Spain has always been strained, and you only have to be queuing to cross the border between The Rock and La Linea which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week both for vehicles and pedestrians to understand how the relationship can lead to massive delays of hours.

Currently there is no limit on the number of frontier crossings any one person can make – post Brexit could be a very different set of rules.

Some of the biggest online operators are based in Gibraltar enjoying the low taxes to such an extent that now the country is one of the world's biggest gaming hubs and 70% of people working on The Rock travel from Spain.

With over 35 licensed operators representing many of the top companies in the market – names like William Hill and Gala Coral have their headquarters there providing online games and the best casino welcome bonuses around Brexit is going to have serious and immediate implications.

Spain is sure to take advantage of Brexit to make things difficult for people to cross the border and this could easily result in job losses – in fact, operators are now looking to bases like Malta to set up in rather than choose Gibraltar because of the threat of Brexit.

The most recent date given for Brexit is 31st October 2019 – until then the uncertainties and speculations of what might be will abound – let's hope the right decisions are made and if the UK does leave the European Union that the transition is as smooth as possible.

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