The online gambling company Bethard is set to leave the UK market in a couple of weeks. The operator became the latest gambling firm that decided to exit the country’s gambling sector amid the constantly tightening restrictions of the UK gambling regulation.
The UK customers of Bethard revealed that they received emails from the gambling company on Monday, with the firm informing them that it is to stop accepting registrations from local customers after June 16th, and its UK-facing website was to cease operation as of July 6th. As explained in the emails, customers will still be permitted to wager up until July 6th, but the operator will close all open bets after that date. Further information about the fate of the so-called ante-post bets is expected to be revealed by the company. British customers will be given time until August 10th to withdraw any remaining money from their accounts.
The online gambling company that is based in Malta received its operating licence from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) only two years ago. Now, it has decided to stop offering its services to local customers without providing any other explanation than the move followed a thorough review of its own strategic options.
Stricter Regulation and Rising Taxes Seem to Be Fending Gambling Companies Off the UK
According to analysts, the surprising decision of Bethard was probably influenced by the lack of major sports events due to the pandemic-related shutdown, leaving customers with no sports competitions to bet on.
Apart from that, the announcement for the company’s exodus from the UK gambling sector came at a time when the All-Party Parliamentary Group has just proposed new restrictions to be imposed on the activities of gambling companies in the country. Although the campaigners have only made recommendations, for the time being, Bethard may have taken them as a sign that the situation for it in the UK may get worse.
In the last few years, the UK Government and local gambling regulators have been aimed at imposing further restrictions on the sector, with the tighter measures having contributed to the decision of some gambling companies to stop offering their services in the country. The outflow of operators has been particularly happening over the past couple of years.
So far, a number of gambling operators have voluntarily surrendered their operating licences and withdrawn from the UK – the Royal Panda brand of LeoVegas, 188Bet, the ComeOn brand of Cherry AB, MaxEnt, the Betclic Everest Group, two brands of Jackpotjoy (InterCasino and Vera&John) and Viral Interactive Ltd. They have found the constantly tightening restrictions for gambling companies in the UK unfavourable, as the stricter the regulation, the harder for them to stay viable.
More and more gambling companies are finding the UK increasingly harder to operate in and, furthermore, less profitable in comparison to other markets. The higher point-of-consumption tax that was implemented last year combined with the stricter verification rules and the increasing number of requirements regarding customer protection have made the UK less attractive to foreign gambling companies. In addition, the UK gambling sector has always been a highly-competitive one and more than 50% of the brands that try to work there eventually cease operation.
- Author
Olivia Cole
