Tax hike concerns escalate
Tensions around the upcoming rise in the UK’s Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) have escalated, with Gibraltar’s Gaming Commissioner Andrew Lyman cautioning that a substantial tax increase could critically harm the territory’s economy.
loss of bottom-line profit”
Lyman, also a Non-Executive Director for the Independent Betting Adjudication Service, broke his usual political silence on LinkedIn, stating that the industry cannot manage significant tax hikes without experiencing structural harm and “loss of bottom-line profit.”
Lyman’s primary concern is Gibraltar’s economic dependence on the remote gambling sector, including major UK-focused iGaming companies bet365 and BetVictor.
Together, these companies contribute approximately £750m ($986.5m) annually to the UK Treasury, which the sector fears will face increased taxes when Chancellor Rachel Reeves presents the UK budget on November 26.
RGD significance
Gibraltar’s economic independence relies heavily on the health of its gambling industry. Lyman stated that while a modest RGD increase could be managed, proposed rates nearing 40% could pose “irrecoverable damage to the sector,” as he mentioned on LinkedIn.
surge in black-market gambling is “real and apparent”
Lyman argues that dismissing industry concerns as “scaremongering,” as done by gambling trade body CEO Grainne Hurst, does not negate the threat of job losses in the gambling sector, and the increase in black-market gambling is “real and apparent.”
The gaming commissioner concluded by mentioning that real political support for Gibraltar would involve “creating conditions that allow the Gibraltar economy to be self-sustaining.”
Economic impacts
Chancellor Reeves’s upcoming tax decision will have impacts reaching beyond Westminster and could challenge Gibraltar’s economic stability if the tax rates are excessively high.
Ultimately, a tax increase prompting major gambling firms to leave could jeopardize the territory’s economic independence.
- SCCG Management. The Gambling Industry’s Global Connector. Access Here.
- Source: SCCGManagement.com
