Bookmakers in the UK have been struggling to deal with a slew of recent changes. Principally, there’s the reduction, slated for April, of all FOBT maximums to a mere £2, down from the current £100, but the industry is also battling tightening regulations, a worsening public regard for gambling advertising, and rising concerns about problem gambling amongst the young (18-25s) and the very young (child gambling). The tax hike for gambling services hasn’t helped either, with the government announcing back in October a rise in Remote Gaming Duty on online casino services from 15% GGR to 21%.
Still, though, there was a bright light shining across from the west as the era of legalised sports betting in the USA dawned. UK bookies could, at least, it was thought, bring their decades of experience in a legalised market to the huge business opportunity that surely awaited them over the pond.
But now all is not quite so rosy, with the US Department of Justice announcing last week that, potentially, all interstate gambling may wind up prohibited according to the Wire Act. Given the legal squabbling sure to accompany the announcement, it’s uncertain now what this all might mean, but it seems fair to assume, at least, that lucrative interstate opportunities aren’t in the immediate offing.
Naturally, UK bookies took a hiding at the Exchange as the news broke, with major names’ share prices heading sharply southward. The current activity of UK bookies in the US is not directly affected, as it happens – all the action is intrastate at the moment, anyway – but the potential future upside is at stake. Some pundits are arguing that a blanket ban on online betting in the US may help boost betting shop activity in the states, but given the convoluted nature of American politics, there’s a lot still to be seen in terms of how this plays out.
