Ladbrokes Confirms Gambling Move To Gibraltar

According to the UK Guardian, Ladbrokes will be shifting its online gambling arm to Gibraltar which will cost the UK Treasury millions of pounds each year. They will defy the agreement to keep running their internet operations from the UK because of the heavy tax burden that makes it much harder to compete with their offshore competitors.



Ladbrokes did not reveal how much it expects to save by moving to Gibraltar but they acknowledged that the move will take place before the end of the year and that it will greatly improve their competitiveness.



In 2001, UK bookmakers agreed to move their online gambling operations back to the UK in return for the government abolishing the 9p levy on all bets. Unfortunately, the 15% tax on all bets in the UK is almost ten times what some of their offshore competitors pay, leaving them with less profit to effectively compete in the market.



William Hill was the first UK bookmaker to confirm that they will be moving offshore. Now that Ladbrokes has decided to move, some of the smaller bookmakers may leave as well.