vinylweatherman
You type well loads
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2004
- Location
- United Kingdom
I have been doing a bit of research on this for a poker blog piece due to be published tomorrow so I think I have a decent understanding of what is happening here.
First things first, there is no need to panic, Microgaming are not going to pull out of the UK market. It is a legal white market and is about 8% of the global market.
Secondly this is not really about tax, it is about licencing costs and restrictions if you have a UK licence. Sites or skins with little or no UK base may pull out of the UK market so that they do not pay the licencing fees or need to disclose their ownership but some that focus on grey or black markets would not get a UK licence even if they applied.
This new licencing regime will lead to a polarisation of sites - those that serve grey or black (US) markets will not get or apply for a UK licence. Those that target white markets and the legally defensible grey markets will likely get a UK licence. 32Red is heavily UK so the licence fees etc will not stop them operating in the UK.
The B2B setups - Microgaming Playtech and the like will need to get a UK licence, and their B2C partners in the UK market will need one too. It is the B2Cs that are responsible for the player funds and who will face most scrutiny re risky grey markets.
The B2B licence that affect MG has had a bit extraa added to the UKGCs FAQ on the rules just this week. It is still a bit woolly but the FAQ here with the recent changes highlighted in purple gives the situation for MG.
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Maybe not, but it seems there is a major pull out of stand alone Microgaming casinos just over the horizon, and players are being kept in the dark, having to piece together what is likely to happen from next week onwards from press articles and rumour.
All these sites need to do is make it clear to UK players what will change and when. If a site tells me they will close to UK players on Oct 1st, I know I can play there till the end of September, but should avoid any promotions or tournaments that do not complete by the end of September.
The sketchy evidence so far is that big groups are looking at a total pull out from the UK from the end of this week, but we are not allowed to be given names. This means it could be any big group, and could affect any of their promotions that end after this week, including the major Reels De Janeiro tournament.
It looks to me as though they intend to shut out UK players overnight and then tell them, just as happened to players in Spain, Italy and France under Microgaming.