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02 Oct 11
19:59
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Date Joined:
05 Jan 10
Parliament slow out of the stalls to protect punters from offshore bookmakers
As we witness an ever-increasing exodus of equine talent to race abroad, it is only apt, in the shadow of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, that we should again question where it all went wrong.
By Charlie Brooks http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing
The answer, however, is not Longchamp, Belmont or Hong Kong, who are all beneficiaries of the paucity of our prize money. It is Gibraltar, that parasitic little island which is sucking the blood out of British racing like a tick.
The margin of profit of United Kingdom-based bookmakers on horse racing has plummeted. And so, by definition, has the 10.75 per cent levy on their profits which they pay back to the sport.
This has happened because offshore bookmakers in Gibraltar are currently flooding the UK market with free bet offers and incentives to punters. These reduce their own short-term profitability, but increase their long-term market share. And they have money to throw at these marketing ploys which the dwindling number of onshore bookmakers don’t.
Firstly, the offshore bookmakers don’t have to pay levy on their profits back to racing. Secondly, they don’t have to pay UK levels of VAT on costs such as advertising. And thirdly, they aren’t paying corporation tax to the UK government either.
But it is not only the racing industry that suffers. What should be of as much concern to John Penrose, the Gambling Minister, is that the best interests of British citizens cannot be protected when they bet online or via telephone with a bookmaker whom they may be unaware is based in Gibraltar.
This lack of protection is currently being highlighted by a case, which, at great expense to the litigants, has resulted in a request to the Supreme Court for a judicial review.
The chief justice will consider whether the Gibraltar gambling commissioner Phill Brear was right to advise Betfred and 888 to withhold £800,000 winnings from UK citizens.
The British Horseracing Authority has deemed that the races concerned were all above board and bookmakers based in the UK have paid out on them. Had they not done so, the punters involved would have had legitimate grounds for recourse from the UK gambling commission – but that protection does not extend to Gibraltar.
There is nothing laid down in European Law to prevent our Government putting a stop to this. All they have to do is pass a simple law that would outlaw gaming operators, who are not licensed in this country, from taking bets from UK citizens. As governments in France and America have shown, this is easily enforceable. But how long will it take our ponderous parliament to get on with it?
As we witness an ever-increasing exodus of equine talent to race abroad, it is only apt, in the shadow of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, that we should again question where it all went wrong.
By Charlie Brooks http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing
The answer, however, is not Longchamp, Belmont or Hong Kong, who are all beneficiaries of the paucity of our prize money. It is Gibraltar, that parasitic little island which is sucking the blood out of British racing like a tick.
The margin of profit of United Kingdom-based bookmakers on horse racing has plummeted. And so, by definition, has the 10.75 per cent levy on their profits which they pay back to the sport.
This has happened because offshore bookmakers in Gibraltar are currently flooding the UK market with free bet offers and incentives to punters. These reduce their own short-term profitability, but increase their long-term market share. And they have money to throw at these marketing ploys which the dwindling number of onshore bookmakers don’t.
Firstly, the offshore bookmakers don’t have to pay levy on their profits back to racing. Secondly, they don’t have to pay UK levels of VAT on costs such as advertising. And thirdly, they aren’t paying corporation tax to the UK government either.
But it is not only the racing industry that suffers. What should be of as much concern to John Penrose, the Gambling Minister, is that the best interests of British citizens cannot be protected when they bet online or via telephone with a bookmaker whom they may be unaware is based in Gibraltar.
This lack of protection is currently being highlighted by a case, which, at great expense to the litigants, has resulted in a request to the Supreme Court for a judicial review.
The chief justice will consider whether the Gibraltar gambling commissioner Phill Brear was right to advise Betfred and 888 to withhold £800,000 winnings from UK citizens.
The British Horseracing Authority has deemed that the races concerned were all above board and bookmakers based in the UK have paid out on them. Had they not done so, the punters involved would have had legitimate grounds for recourse from the UK gambling commission – but that protection does not extend to Gibraltar.
There is nothing laid down in European Law to prevent our Government putting a stop to this. All they have to do is pass a simple law that would outlaw gaming operators, who are not licensed in this country, from taking bets from UK citizens. As governments in France and America have shown, this is easily enforceable. But how long will it take our ponderous parliament to get on with it?
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It is Gibraltar, that parasitic little island which is sucking the blood out of British racing like a tick.
OMFG......message to Charlie brooks......it is mis-management and greed by the vested interests in the "sport" for the past 20 years ....
...and the efforts to keep the gravy train running on time for the priveliged few..
..that has sucked the sport dry....NOT..."a parasitic island" as you so charmingly put it.
..same old same old.....Racing blaming everyone but themselves!!!!!!!
OMFG......message to Charlie brooks......it is mis-management and greed by the vested interests in the "sport" for the past 20 years ....
...and the efforts to keep the gravy train running on time for the priveliged few..
..that has sucked the sport dry....NOT..."a parasitic island" as you so charmingly put it.
..same old same old.....Racing blaming everyone but themselves!!!!!!!
Well surely Charlie is better placed than most of us to whisper in Dave`s ear.
The answer he`s likely to get back is " You always were a bit fick Brookes. It`s all about free markets innit "
The answer he`s likely to get back is " You always were a bit fick Brookes. It`s all about free markets innit "
"As we witness an ever-increasing exodus of equine talent to race abroad....."
Is this true? And even if it is, Brooks could have chosen a better day than today where British trained horses won four of the six Group 1 races they contested!
Is this true? And even if it is, Brooks could have chosen a better day than today where British trained horses won four of the six Group 1 races they contested!
Total lack of research by Brooks since Gibraltar isn't an island.
By all means slate those moving there but at least get it right.
By all means slate those moving there but at least get it right.
Remarkable that an educated man would think Gibraltar an island but i actually agree with the thrust of the article.
There is nothing laid down in European Law to prevent our Government putting a stop to this. All they have to do is pass a simple law that would outlaw gaming operators, who are not licensed in this country, from taking bets from UK citizens. As governments in France and America have shown, this is easily enforceable.
Ah I love it when a clueless journalist waffles on. The USA has persistently breached its trade treaty obligations on remote gambling and the WTO fined them in a case brought by Antigua. They have ignored this and in an outstanding example of deception and bullying, characterised FullTiltPoker as a ponzi scheme in a press release, conveniently forgetting that the US DoJ had seized more than $300m of players money over a 4 year period (according to the AGGC).
A "simple law" blocking unlicensed gambling breaches single market rules and would not even be coutenanced if it was not for bent European judges giving out bizarre and inconsistent rulings. The main gambling firms are never out of the European courts winning/losing judgements.
Britain dropped the ball years ago because of a one eyed socialist idiot who hates gambling. We should have had a competive remote betting tax regime which would have attracted a substantial industry to this country and then insisted a single market was established and the yanks abided by their trade obligations.
Thats the truth of the matter and whining about Gib is pointless.
Ah I love it when a clueless journalist waffles on. The USA has persistently breached its trade treaty obligations on remote gambling and the WTO fined them in a case brought by Antigua. They have ignored this and in an outstanding example of deception and bullying, characterised FullTiltPoker as a ponzi scheme in a press release, conveniently forgetting that the US DoJ had seized more than $300m of players money over a 4 year period (according to the AGGC).
A "simple law" blocking unlicensed gambling breaches single market rules and would not even be coutenanced if it was not for bent European judges giving out bizarre and inconsistent rulings. The main gambling firms are never out of the European courts winning/losing judgements.
Britain dropped the ball years ago because of a one eyed socialist idiot who hates gambling. We should have had a competive remote betting tax regime which would have attracted a substantial industry to this country and then insisted a single market was established and the yanks abided by their trade obligations.
Thats the truth of the matter and whining about Gib is pointless.
I love the " insisted a single market was established and the yanks abided by their trade obligations " 
What we going to do ffs. Send a gun boat to New York ?
What we going to do ffs. Send a gun boat to New York ?
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