Brexit: Whether They Like it or Not

Brexit is looming over the UK and whether it turns out to be a hard or soft exit, there is no doubt that it is going to change the landscape of business more than anything else has in the last generation.  

The gambling industry is one of the UK’s biggest and per head the betting and UK gaming companies make more money than any other country in the world, so it really isn’t so surprising that there are a lot of worried people concerned about the effects Brexit is going to have on them as punters both in the UK as well as abroad. 

There is a huge number of questions and uncertainties surrounding what will happen when the UK does leave the European Union and with debates still raging around whether or not it's still a good idea to leave at all – this page is devoted to what will happen to the gambling industry if Brexit stops being an abstract idea – through to a reality.

Unlike a lot of other European Union industries gambling is not centrally regulated with each country in the Union having its own licensing arrangements and laws – this means that the day the UK does leave the EU many bettors will not notice a great difference – but if you happen to gamble with a company that is non-UK it is quite possible that they will pull out of the market, but the biggest effects of Brexit will hit the bookmakers. 

The UK bookmakers will have to choose where they are to base their online operations and already the UK is seeing many moving from UK jurisdictions like Gibraltar and taking their business to places like Malta – unfortunately moving bases does not come cheaply and in the long run the costs of setting up a new base will fall on the punters. There will have to be new tax and trade agreements that again could lead to increased costs for betting websites which would ultimately land on the laps of the punters. 

Today the UK gambling industry is worth over £15 billion and even if leaving the EU has an overall negative effect the British companies are in a good position to ride things out.The actual reality is that there is going to be both positives and negatives for the UK gambling industry with Brexit which will depend on any agreement each (if any) with the European Union – and until the UK politicians can agree amongst themselves what they actually want for the UK – indeed whether the country as a whole wishes to remain with the Conservative Party then the country, the whole of the Union are residing in a type of limbo – a ‘watch this space’ scenario.