Sportingbet CEO Andy McIver referred to the way the government handled its gambling policy as “just like amateur night”, in a tirade after the company recently announced it would be moving to the offshore Chanel Islands and have to pay over 10 million pounds as a relocation charge.
McIver continued, “We have computer systems that need to be updated. If we don’t meet their [the new Gambling Commission] requirements by September we will be committing a criminal offence. The problem is we don’t know what the requirements are…We don’t’ want to leave this country – we never did – but we feel we have no choice”
Sportingbet said pre-tax losses came to nearly 63 million pounds (including the relocation charge), against a profit last year of 21 million. There were no licensing costs to Sportingbet from the Channel Islands as they have had an operating license since their early days.
Also this week, another gaming group, Interactive Gaming, whose brands include Premierbet and Heathorns, announced its relocation to Malta due to a “more defined regulatory environment.”
The move also corresponded with the departure of its CEO John Heaton. Despite missing a deadline to file its accounts, Interactive still plans to make the move, saying it, along with companies like Sportingbet, are frustrated with the regulation dealings between the gaming industry and the government. With a 15% remote gaming tax passed in the last budget, it seems unlikely either company would move back.
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport relayed that the “Gambling Act modernizes 40-year-old gambling laws…[making sure] all operators will be required to put social responsibility at the heart of their operations and that gambling is fair, crime-free, and that children and vulnerable people are protected.”
