Rumors swirl over possible Betfair move

[The Buzz]

Betfair finally made the move to go public on London Stock Exchange last month. The company has also recently opened an office in Dublin. Could this mean the betting exchange might move offshore?

From CasinoGamblingWeb:

The company insists that the Dublin office is just part of expansion plans, but with the potential for increased revenue taxes in the UK, Betfair may be preparing for a possible relocation. As of now, Betfair claims they are happy with their base operations in the UK.

Last year, William Hill and Ladbrokes, two of the largest online gaming operators in the world, relocated to Gibraltar because of the difference in tax rate compared with the UK. Gibraltar offered a tax rate that was over ten percent less than what William Hill and Ladbrokes had been paying in the UK.

[RayUK]

Notwithstanding the cost of the move itself, they would be silly not to move their operations and company head office out of the UK. It is a pretty terrible (high tax getting higher, lots of red tape, generally anti-business) place to set up any business these days, let alone a gambling one. IMO.

[jctroy440]

If that is true then look for a push from them to get a slice of the USA market. Good News!

[RayUK]

Sorry to bump an old thread but I thought it apposite and better than creating a new one, Betfair move to Gibralter and save £18 million in tax:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...cent-growth.do

[grem]

saving £18 million in taxes is a good reason not to stay in London. That is far too high

[davenewgates]

saving £18 million in taxes is a good reason not to stay in London. That is far too high

Wealthy people are charged bigger taxes, gambling taxes won't stop them from wagering though. Remember the statistics comparing their use of gambing sites and facebook?

[RayUK]

Wealthy people are charged bigger taxes, gambling taxes won't stop them from wagering though. Remember the statistics comparing their use of gambing sites and facebook?

I think it is more a question of businesses leaving because business taxes are too high - and not just the headline rate of corporation tax, there are other taxes on a lot of businesses over and above that - e.g. gambling businesses. The new tax on banking for instance looks like it may mean HSBC move back to Hong Kong from London. Kraft have moved Cadbury to Switzerland and there are a bunch of lesser known names that are moving from the UK.

[rak]

I think it is more a question of businesses leaving because business taxes are too high - and not just the headline rate of corporation tax, there are other taxes on a lot of businesses over and above that - e.g. gambling businesses. The new tax on banking for instance looks like it may mean HSBC move back to Hong Kong from London. Kraft have moved Cadbury to Switzerland and there are a bunch of lesser known names that are moving from the UK.

Agree with you totally. And countries are out there looking to give business tax breaks just by setting up shop in their countries.

I get taxed .. and I always think its more then I should be taxed. I worked in Singapore for a year.. I got taxed 5-7%. Now that I could live with... in Australia.. its a case of ~40%.

[cassy]

This possible move maybe of good purpose. However, we cannot deny the fact that being charged with high tax is a kind of toxic to every business, though, if one business earns bigger revenue then why not charged them with high tax. Taxes should depend on how big the company earns. BTW, I've checked on the date of this thread and it was late October last year. Are there any updates with regards to this?

[baldidiot]

I'm going off on on a vague tangent now, but I didn't see the need for a new thread. I was speaking to a friend in the pub the other night who said that he was going to stop using betfair because of the move.

He's a pretty regular sports bettor and was saying that he will only bet with companies based in the UK - I'm not sure if he feels that they're safer, or just wants his money to stay in the UK (he's quite patriotic), but I found it interesting.

I wonder if many other UK punters feel this way?

[RayUK]

Interesting point baldidiot, that may well be the case I guess! How many big UK names betting shop wise are still headquartered here? Your friend might run out of choice.

[baldidiot]

Interesting point baldidiot, that may well be the case I guess! How many big UK names betting shop wise are still headquartered here? Your friend might run out of choice.

Very true!

[Caruso]

Are there any?

Does the average punter even know?

[Christoff]

Gibraltar is actually a British Colony - and if you go there, you will see they are more patriotic than people here in the UK

[JoeAdams]

Aside from lessening their tax burden in UK, they might be following their two rivals – Ladbrokes and William Hill in transferring in Gibraltar.

[Casinorep]

If anything, I see this as a positive light to the whole industry, especially in the European market.