Next: UK to Reform Online Gambling Tax

The United Kingdom may be about to change the manner in which taxes online gambling companies that offer services to its residents from abroad, which could mean higher bills for those firms.

British gov't announces review

The Treasury announced last week that it would be undertaking a review of remote gambling taxation, hot on the heels from a similar proposal last week by Gambling Policy Minister John Penrose.

Under the proposal from Penrose, gambling would be regulated according to consumption, not according to supply, which means Britain would have the power to tax foreign firms just for offering their online casino, poker and other products to British residents.

Possible downsides

There are various downsides for this to gambling operators, who could be hit twice by taxation - once on the way out from the country in which they operate and then a second time on the way in to Britain.

In fact, analysts have estimated that the introduction of such could see leading betting operators like William Hill, Ladbrokes and Betfair - which operate offshore in tax havens like Gibraltar - slapped with up to $50 million a year in extra taxation costs.