Ladbrokes and William Hill start exodus to Gibraltar – Casino Hideout

Hot on the tail of the announcement that William Hill is moving its online casino, online sports betting and gaming operation to Gibraltar, Ladbrokes - parent company to Ladbrokes Casino - has announced that they too are joining their rival in leaving the UK for much friendlier shores where internet casino and gaming taxation is not quite as painful. Gibraltar must be rubbing their governmental hands in glee as they now will gain what the UK coffers will lose.  Good news for the Gibraltarians as it will see a boost to their economy and of course yet another employer for local people.

Gentleman’s agreement or not – give us the cash!

The Guardian broke the story earlier today that Ladbrokes are moving to Gibraltar and the news is sure to have caused much wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth at No.10 - and of course at the next door neighbours house.  There have been comments over the last few days made about how the UK government is disappointed, as there was a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ for the UK online bookies and online casinos to stay put.  However William Hill decided to move to save an estimated £7m in UK taxes and it is likely that the same reasoning was behind Ladbrokes move which has been reported today in the national press.

Tax Coffers down, Ladbrokes share price up

In a company statement issued about the decision to move the operation from the UK to Gibraltar, Ladbrokes Chief Executive Christopher Bell said that operating in the UK “has become unsustainable and we will relocate by the year end," and that the move would "materially improve the competitiveness and operating margin" for Ladbrokes. Obviously the reports of Ladbrokes decision to move to Gibraltar may not be good news for the government, but the news in the city has not been received badly at all as Ladbrokes shares had risen this morning to 171.1p, which is up 2.15%.

The question in light of this news remains, now that two of the biggest names in the online casino and sports betting world are moving out of the UK – When will the rest of the online casino, sports betting and online poker rooms follow suit?

www.ladbrokescasino.com