Gambling in the Royal Way: The Experience of the United Kingdom

The global gambling scene is taking off and steadily increasing in its size. The online gambling sphere continues to expand as confirmed by research. The combination of factors primarily enables this growth. The rapid growth of the online segment has played a major role in this development; there is a huge surge in the popularity of mobile applications that allow players to play different forms of online gambling games on their cellphones, besides the other factors related to the connectivity of the internet with different regions and countries.

Mobile applications are increasingly taking the front seat when it comes to gambling possibilities in the future. Besides, there is increasing demand for Visa accepted slots, where players can comfortably use their preferred mode of payment to deposit casino funds.

Gambling Development in the United Kingdom

Looking at Europe, the United Kingdom stands out as the most colorful example of gambling development. For the last few decades, the entertainment industry in this country has been on the rise. Therefore, most experts often cite the conditions of this country as an example when it comes to the legalization of the gambling market. In the UK, the norms of law have encountered a large number of issues and have already set up a well-functioning regulatory apparatus. The experience of Brirtain will be considered for comparison and the parallels raised along with significant differences in the Ukrainian legal field.

Historical Background and Gambling Legislation

In the UK, gambling became legal in the 1960s, but it was given new life with later years with the Gambling Act that created a whole new structure of protection for vulnerable groups of people, such as children and adults, and governed online casinos. As part of that law, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission was formed, acting on behalf of the government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Also under the Commission, the division that focuses actively on betting issues is called the Sports Betting Intelligence Unit. Some distinctions here arise with the Ukrainian legal framework: KRAIL does not have specialized units in such a way. In addition, there are DRAFT laws being developed to eliminate KRAIL in Ukraine and provide for an automatic system of licensing of activities according to exhaustive criteria.

Regulatory Environment and Licensing in the UK

The society of the United Kingdom has liberalized significantly in recent decades. The jurisdiction of the gambling industry of the country is considered highly regulated and the process to obtain a license is rather difficult. There are a couple of types of licenses:

• Operating license.
• Personal activity license.
• Operational license for various types of gambling: betting, bingo, casinos, lotteries, gambling software, and slot machines.

While the license for gambling premises is issued by local authorities and not the Commission, the law does specify the types of activities and persons that are required to be licensed. The companies are supposed to go for licenses through the gambling commission after collection of a huge lot of documents. This includes not only primary company documents but also statutory ones, such as business plans, financial plans for the year, etc. Additional documents can really make the process for preparing an application for a business permit quite lengthy.

Taxation and Fees for Gambling Operators

The complete set of documents is a decisive factor in the calculation of the costs of licenses, commissions, and taxes. The amounts depend on various factors: gross income accrued annually, the kind of gambling establishment, and the number of establishments, among others. The gambling operators in England pay taxes depending on their kinds of activity.

• Land-based casinos — from 15 to 50% of profit.
• Slot machines — 5%, 20%, or 25% of profit depending on the type of machine.
• Betting — 15% of profit, excluding financial spread bets (3%) and other spread bets (10%).
• Bingo — 10% of profit.
• Lottery — 12% of turnover.
• Remote gambling (including online) — 21% of profit.

The gambling operators in the United Kingdom are one of the largest sectors in contributing to the economy of the country.

Comparison with Ukraine’s Gambling Tax System

In comparison to the tax system that operates in Ukraine, gaming operators are taxed on their profit, income from slot machine operations, betting activities, and any other forms of gambling. In light of the changing realities of Ukrainian life, the authorities are contemplating alteration in the sphere of gambling taxation.

Key Differences in Gambling Legislation Between the UK and Ukraine

A similar process to that observed in the UK is also true for Ukraine. The Ukrainian state regulator has spelled out the requirements for governance in the industry. However, the main difference is that the legislation in Ukraine is still very much in its infancy, presenting hurdles for the state as well as the operators.