UK Online Gaming Licensing Procedures
The 2005 Act states that before the holder of an online gambling license can start its legal business conduct, those individuals who hold a so called 'specified managed office' in connection with the provision of the facilities for gambling must hold personal licenses. This means those who are responsible for the following functions, whatever their actual job title, unless exempt under the small-scale operator exemption:
- overall strategy and delivery of gambling operations;
- financial planning, control, and budgeting;
- marketing and commercial development;
- regulatory compliance;
- gambling-related IT provision and security;
- any function influencing the outcome of the gambling;
- any function relating to receiving or paying money.
Individuals who occupy more than one of these management positions at the same time only need to hold one personal license.
Examples of those who need a personal license include the chief executive officer, managing director, executive chairmen, chief operating officer, financial director, Marketing director, IT director, etc.
The procedures by which personal licenses are issued have been specified by the Gambling Commission and the application forms are also available at www.gamblingcomission.gov.uk. Once granted, a personal license will remain in force indefinitely unless it is surrendered or lapses or is forfeited or reviews in the same way as the operating license itself. No individual can hold more than one personal license. although that license may authorize to perform more than one function.
Related Fees and Taxation
Initial and annual fees are payable for online gambling operating licenses and personal licenses are regularly updated. Currently the Gambling Commission stated the following fees in accordance to the categorization by annual gross gambling yield and license types.
Online casinos, Bingo, and Betting are categorized in accordance with the table below.
| Category F | Category G | Category H | Category I | Category J |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £5 million | £5 million - £100 million |
£100 million – £200 million |
£200 million – £500 million |
Over £500 million |
Betting intermediaries (trading rooms only) are judged on annual gross gambling yield in the following categories:
| Category F | Category G | Category H |
|---|---|---|
| Under £0,5 million | £0,5 million – £6 million |
Over £6 million |
Gambling software license fee categories are all determined by the value of annual gross sales:
| Category F | Category G | Category H |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £ 500,000 | £500,000 or greater, up to and including £6 million |
Greater than £6million |
Annual processes determine the fee categories for remote lottery operators:
| Lottery Operating License | Category F | Category G | Category H |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lottery operating (external manager) license | Up to £500,000 | £500,000 – £6 million |
Over £6 million |
| Lottery operating (society) license | Up to £100,000 | £100,00 – £500,000 |
Over £500,000 |
Relevant Fees for the main categories of remote operating licenses are:
| Operating License Type | Application Fee (£) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | F | G | H | I | J |
| New Casino | 6,860 | 13,703 | 20,580 | 30,148 | 39,569 |
| Existing casino | - | - | - | - | - |
| Bingo | 3,430 | 7, 546 | 17,130 | 20,580 | 30,148 |
| General Betting | 3,430 | 7,546 | 17,130 | 20,580 | 30,148 |
| Pool betting | 685 | 1,713 | 5,139 | 5,139 | 5,139 |
| Betting Intermediary | 6,680 | 13,703 | 17,130 | 20,580 | 30,148 |
| Operating License Type | Annual Fee (£) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | F | G | H | I | J |
| New Casino | 12,733 | 35,885 | 69,658 | 110,820 | 146,282 |
| Existing casino | 12,733 | 35,885 | 69,658 | 110,820 | 146,282 |
| Bingo | 12,733 | 35,885 | 69,658 | 110,820 | 146,282 |
| General Betting | 1,500 | 69,658 | 110,820 | 146,282 | |
| Pool betting | 1,500 | 35,885 | 69,658 | 110,820 | 146,282 |
| Betting Intermediary | 12,733 | 35,885 | 69,658 | 110,820 | 146,282 |
Taxation
In addition to any payroll tax and to the relevant property taxes which are payable on a UK operation, there are specific taxes applicable to online gambling. For remote betting the General Betting Duty is 15% of the operator's gross profit and for remote gaming a newly introduced Remote Gaming Duty is payable at, effectively, the same rate. For a betting exchange or a pool/pari-mutuel betting operator the rate is 15% of the operator's commission.
Thus, in all online gambling the tax, in addition to other mainstream UK taxes, is effectively 15% of the operator's revenue.
