April tax rise - starting to see affects.

[C-man70]

With the upcoming, devastating tax rise for the UK based gambling sector , I have started to see the adverse affect will have on the customer.
- Boyle Sports had a pop up message informing customer of changes to T&C's in coming weeks for RTP on slots and games.
- I noticed MrQ new games section had all the new games already loaded with 93% RTP.
- Voodoo, NY Spins, Los Vegas have changed their weekly loss cashback from 10% to 5%.

These are the ones I've noticed. There will be more changes upcoming to try and claw back their tax charges. It really is the death of online UK casino. 93% RTP will just bankrupt the customer. It's not exactly helping problem gamblers is it. Offshore sites are now going to be the way forward. Government will get less taxes and the customers get less protection.

 

[geordiecolin]

I am not too far away from finding a no deposit poker site that includes a chat facility at the table and dumping slots dependant on how bad things get

 

[C-man70]

I am not too far away from finding a no deposit poker site that includes a chat facility at the table and dumping slots dependant on how bad things get

Pokerstars...good poker site for play money. And yes the Government thinks that by taxing the casinos it will help problem gambling. It's just going to make it worse.

 

[lukey141]

I don't think the government expect it will tackle problem gambling, they expect it to raise more taxes.

They don't really care about us they just care about how much of the pie they get and they want a bigger slice.

I do expect the increased taxes leading to many sites lowering RTP, reducing kickbacks and removing promotions will accidentally lead to less gambling as people realise they're getting bent over. The people with problems however.... will only get worse for them as their money will last even less now.

 

[geordiecolin]

I don't think the government expect it will tackle problem gambling, they expect it to raise more taxes.

They don't really care about us they just care about how much of the pie they get and they want a bigger slice.

I do expect the increased taxes leading to many sites lowering RTP, reducing kickbacks and removing promotions will accidentally lead to less gambling as people realise they're getting bent over. The people with problems however.... will only get worse for them as their money will last even less now.

I posted years ago about the death of the online casino and the governments ability to control how much we are allowed to gamble per month. I strongly believe that even more today.
Gone are they days that a postman could pay his taxes,have two kids,wife at home,run a car and have a family holiday. If I am right in saying this- America went to war with England over having to pay 6% tax?

 

[lockinlove]

I posted years ago about the death of the online casino and the governments ability to control how much we are allowed to gamble per month. I strongly believe that even more today.
Gone are they days that a postman could pay his taxes,have two kids,wife at home,run a car and have a family holiday. If I am right in saying this- America went to war with England over having to pay 6% tax?

Sad but true. Over here in Canada there is no way you can own a home and have a family on just one income. Maybe you have are a high level lawyer or surgeon or something. And it's getting worse monthly here so I really dont know what the plan is but soon people wont be able to afford their bills on 2 incomes.

 

[geordiecolin]

Sad but true. Over here in Canada there is no way you can own a home and have a family on just one income. Maybe you have are a high level lawyer or surgeon or something. And it's getting worse monthly here so I really dont know what the plan is but soon people wont be able to afford their bills on 2 incomes.

Taxes have been intoduced by stealth. Give the illusion your doing well while upping it without you realising. Add tax to what you buy makes you except inflation. We all except price rises,why? More for the government and the rich.
They have had it all worked out for many many decades

 

[robert_b8]

It seems they need even more money to restrain the economy And they won't let people just play normally.

 

[C-man70]

I've played on UK casinos this week and I am looking at each game. The RTP has definitely dropped in some of them. New game Eye of Horus Golden Tablet is at 92%....that's a direct effect of the April tax....it's impossible now for the player to win

 

[megadam]

Not just affecting the casinos, even National Lottery have jumped on the bandwagon and are lowering the prize value on their physical scratchcards going forward now, all the new ones that are clones/comparable games have all started getting lower percentages since the new year. Shameful really.

 

[Mr Shine]

Playtech have been pushing out the Live Casino bonuses like gangbusters this month. Nothing for ages then loads at once. Maybe this is a last hurrah before it all becomes too expensive.

 

[C-man70]

Not just affecting the casinos, even National Lottery have jumped on the bandwagon and are lowering the prize value on their physical scratchcards going forward now, all the new ones that are clones/comparable games have all started getting lower percentages since the new year. Shameful really.

I'm seeing it big style this week.....new games are already been loaded with really low RTP. ..I'm presuming the older games will be updated April 6th with lower RTP.......if your playing a game under 94% you really have no chance of winning. I spoke with someone who owns a UK online casino at Cheltenham last week..... he said he is stopping cashback, no freebies, no promotions and hopes it will go ok but he reckons eventually they will either fold or be bought out by the bigger casinos

 

[steveh35]

I'm seeing it big style this week.....new games are already been loaded with really low RTP. ..I'm presuming the older games will be updated April 6th with lower RTP.......if your playing a game under 94% you really have no chance of winning. I spoke with someone who owns a UK online casino at Cheltenham last week..... he said he is stopping cashback, no freebies, no promotions and hopes it will go ok but he reckons eventually they will either fold or be bought out by the bigger casinos

I played Big Bad Wolf Cash & Collect last night at 91.07% RTP and went from £10 to £122 slowly over an hour and withdrew so there's always a chance.

 

[2Slots]

I've noticed the same on all the new slots sections. They're all max 94.5% but I've seen quite a few as low as 91.2%.

It looks like the effects of the tax will depend on what happens to the market share in the uk. If too many players stop or leave the UK sites then it might backfire either because the tax take could stay the same or drop. It all depends on how many players are clued up to what's going on.

Something else that occurred to me with the lower RTPs is that it could be win/win for the casinos and the government if the turnover happens to stay the same. For every £1 a 96% slot makes the casino it would be split 60p/40p between the two with the new tax but if that same slot drops to 94% it's now £1.50 split 90p/60p so they both would end up with more money. Correct me if I'm wrong please.

 

[Jono777]

It was said a good few years back that UKGC and others would ruin a once fair and enjoyable for the player and simultaneously profitable for the casinos industry.

How right we were, sadly.

96%'ers and promos would be still be rife, along with the casinos making decent dosh, if only not for nit picking and needless (to a point) interfering where its not wanted.

 

[PeenyBunslinger]

Making less isn't an option.

 

[SYPlayer95]

View attachment 219131

Making less isn't an option.

I dont really get it. Most folk who get cashback will only play with if and lose anyway.

 

[satchnz]

I dont really get it. Most folk who get cashback will only play with if and lose anyway.

I guess they still need to pay provider fees on cashback money wagered, plus there is a chance the customer will turn the cashback into a withdrawal. In other words, a pound deposited costs the casino less than a dollar given as cashback.

Why don’t you think about the poor casinos for a change?

 

[Mr Shine]

OK it's now after midday on April 1. You got us good. Can you admit it's an April Fool now?

 

[BozzGeeBee]

I’ve been a slots addict for more than 10 years and I’d like to say there’s been a cataclysmic reaction by the casinos (UK) to recent government tax reform . Essentially the casinos have to pay 40% duty on all bets up from 26% . That’s a big leap. As a consequence I’ve seen almost all legit uk casinos downshift the rtp ( which ironically gets spelled checked to rip ) from 94ish percent to as low as 90 . Virgin games hold you head in shame .. But it makes zero sense , surely to keep the gambler gambling they need a return . If you lower the chance of a return what chance do you have of repeat customers ? I can give a 1000 examples of this but here’s a small sample . Almost without exception pragmatic slots have been shaved down to 92-90 % rtp , hacksaw the same . We get a rough deal regardless of provider in uk , no bonus buy etc. I was wondering if there’s any merit in some clever clogs keeping us up to date with the best rtps across uk casinos ? My go to game is Jammin jars 2 . I kid you not I’ve had more 1000 x on this game ( easily 50+) than any other . BUT virgin games slashed rtp from 94.5 to 90 , that’s them binned , and the other end MRQ still pays 96.2 % and thank you for that . Is it the end for uk slots ,that’s my real question