When the UK decided to leave the EU a while ago, many were shocked. People’s daily lives were going to be heavily disrupted and many businesses were going to suffer. However, over time, a bigger question had swords hanging over everyone’s heads — will the UK leave EU with or without a deal? The UK has been struggling to come up with a deal over several months leaving its populace in a confusion as to how they should prepare for their post-Brexit lives. This is more so true for gamblers and casino UK. Since there are drastically different rules governing online gambling with and without the EU, only time will tell what might happen.
Casino UK Before Brexit
The gambling industry is a major source of income in every country. It brings in thousands of tourists every year and helps in the growth of local businesses. The same is true for the UK as well.
The gambling industry has been consistently performing better in the UK over the past few years. According to the Gambling Commission’s latest statistics, the total gross gambling yield in Great Britain during October 2017 – September 2018 was 14.5 billion. Also, the gross gambling yield of the UK’s online gambling reached 5.6 billion in the same period.
The Brexit Strikes
For businesses in the UK, especially casino UK, the effects of Brexit are unavoidable. Despite showing such promising growth, casino goers and operators are equally confused as to how Brexit will affect their entertainment and their livelihoods.
One thing that’s known is that if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, things would relapse to the WTO (World Trade Organisation) rules. These WTO rules bring out streams of sweat rolling down the UK players and operators as they would be excluded from the market access to EU services. Therefore, any English casino sites will get excluded from bids inside the EU. Thus, if trade negotiations collapse, it’ll undoubtedly be a major problem for the gambling industry in the UK.
Casino UK operators are especially in a tight spot. On one hand, they have to prepare for an uncertain event, and on the other, they have to prevent their current operations from going helter-skelter. They’re trying to show optimism towards the Brexit situation, but none of the UK players is buying it. Most gamblers and secretly online casinos expect a negative impact despite not knowing how the Brexit will go down.
How will the Ups and Downs Affect you?
A big upcoming downside is that in 2014, many online casinos were restricted from operating in the UK. After Brexit, these tax laws are expected to become sterner. On the other hand, the UK government has confirmed granting Gibraltar access to its online gambling markets post-Brexit. Casino UK and gamblers are equally uncertain how the Brexit will affect them, except that the gambling industry will be affected by the British economy without a doubt.