Great Britain

20.10.2020 11:19
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The internet-gambling market in Great Britain is a lider one, not only in Europe, but perhaps in the whole world. During the last five years, the local gambling market shows an excellent growth pattern. It is no wonder, because the British is a gambling nation, it was established historically. Furthermore, the legal system of Great Britain promotes the businessmen who are trying to obtain the casino or bookmaker licence. 

In the country there is only one regulator which is responsible for issuance of licenses and supervision over gambling – UK Gambling Commision. Up until Autumn 2014, the authorities did not request the operators to have the licence specifically in this jurisdiction. That is why the majority decided to base the casino licensed in Malta or Gibraltar whose state license is much cheaper, but it permits to work at the british market and accept the users from Great Britain. Howether on November 2014 the authorities of the country approved a new legislative proposal according to which all licensed casinos, bookmakers, etc. who render their services at british market, are obliged to obtain the local license. It was the same for all operators who allocated their technical equipment on territory of the country. So all the institutions in a compulsory way were obliged to be licensed in order to pay 15% tax levy to the treasury of the state. 

Thus, if you are going to base a licensed casino or to start advertising other products related to gambling, or if a part of your technical equipment is located in Great Britain, then you cannot manage without licence. At the moment the regulator is giving only two licence variants: for rendering services via the Internet and the personal licence of the manager.

Let’s begin with the second case. This kind of licence is not available for purchasing only to small companies only with not more than three senior positions. They can use the single licence which is given to casinos or bookmakers. But other companies which have not only one licensed online casino and have many leaders, are obliged to purchase this licence for each employee who is performing one of the following functions:

  • Strategy and handling gambling operations;
  • Working with finances, control over the budget;
  • Advertisement and commercial considerations;
  • Compliance with requirements of the regulator;
  • Control over technical equipment;
  •  Security issues of user’s personal information and funds;
  • The manager responsible for money laundering and fraud.

Personnel who perform multiple functions at once can get only one licence. It costs 370 pounds and it is issued for 5 years. As soon as this period of time passes, the licence will be revised.

Let’s analyze the first variant of the licence as well. There are several kinds of it and here all depends on the kind of gambling games that are available on the website of the operator:

  • sports betting;
  • bingo games;
  • slots;
  • casino games (not slots);
  • software for online casino;
  • lotteries.

If you are going to base a licensed online casino, you should pass the registration on the official website of the regulator. There you can find the application form which is filled in online right on the website. In the case you want to open a combined site, for instance, with casino games or sport betting, you should also indicate it. Except the provided information, it is necessary to attach to the web-form on the site (or to send to the email) also the original of the following documents (you can send the copy of it as well, but it should be notarized):

  • Supporting documentation of the operator;
  • Application form DBS – this is relevant only for the citizens who work/live on the territory of England and Wales. For the citizens from Scotland – the DB form;
  • Small companies should provide the filled application A (a declaration which include personal information of all stuff of the company);
  • Copies of the documents proving the identity (passport) or the registration statement of the legal entity;
  • Bill for payment of the fee;
  • Documents with information about financial data, including data about funding sources of the company. It is obligatory to attach the business-plan with the risk assessment for the next (after obtaining the licence) year;
  • Contact information in Great Britain (this is relevant for non-resident operators).

The cost of the licence varies a lot, because everything is linked with the chosen licence and their amount. In addition, the total amount of income from this industry in the country is taken into consideration. For instance, the cost of a single payment can reach 75000 pounds, and the cost of annual payment can reach 160000 pound.

Besides, there are the following requirements:

  • the minimal authorized capital is 50000 pounds;
  • regular
  • provided data about the company owner and all shareholders;
  • hj
  • publication information about gambling addiction on the portal of casino or bookmaker
  • establishment of cryptographic security of user`s data. 

The advantages of obtaining licence in Great Britain:

  • Outstanding reputation of the jurisdiction;
  • A huge emerging market;
  • Moderate taxes;
  • Absolute clarity;
  • The security of gambling addicted players.