It is not the first time we have heard mention that tax Cuts could be looming for British online gambling ops. It is also no secret that most of these operational companies have joined the exodus to more temperate climes. Most UK online gambling concerns, even the BIG guys such as William Hill, long ago ran away to "White Label" shores such as Malta, Gibraltar, Isle of Man and Alderney.

However, this does not prevent large operators from offering this form of virtual entertainment to a UK-facing audience. Therefore the UK Government needs to find a way to bring some potential tax pounds back to the country. The best and most obvious way to do this would be to offer tax cuts. But will the Government actually enact this – that is the multi-million pound question?!

If we think about it logically, gambling is a numbers game, but then so again is collecting tax. So, we ask you a simple question, would you rather have 5% on millions of pounds of potential income? Or would you rather have 15% of nothing? It doesn’t take rocket science to see that online gambling firms have left the country to take advantage of tax shelters for very obvious reasons.

Apparently now Government Ministers are seeing the madness in the tax situation, it has taken the longest time; and is hoping to encourage operators to base themselves in, or return to Britain.
One thing that is for certain – IS – online gambling is going nowhere at all, and unprecedented growth is being seen in this industry still. Mobile gambling growth using Android, iPhone, iPad, and other tablets, and smartphones, is becoming an off-the-wall trend. This kind of growth in popularity and spending is just too good to resist not getting a share.

While the Government in the UK, mulls over the idea of tax cuts on revenues from this massive growth industry, the Governments of Alderney, Gibraltar, Isle of Mann, and so on, are all cashing in on what has become a mainstream industry. These territories are also cashing in on the perks that work hand-in-hand with healthy industry – job creation for example.

Rumour has it that taxes in the UK will be cut from 15 to 10%, but we don’t really know if 5% would make all that much of an impression. 10% does bring it in line with some other territories, but whether this will be incentive enough, still remains to be seen. The wheels of law-making turn slowly, and we all know that money likes speed. Perhaps a little less "mulling", and a little more action might be required.

Tex Rees, the Fair Gaming Advocate at the independent player protection and standards body eCOGRA, has released statistics for the year 2010 on disputes involving online gambling sites accredited by the London-based company.

The report reveals that certain complaints submitted to the FGA came from a player syndicate fraudulently manipulating bonuses, which an in-depth investigation uncovered.

"Security considerations prevent the disclosure of the location and modus operandi adopted by the swindlers, who were all subsequently discovered and blocked," Rees recounts.

A total of 846 disputes (2009: 826 complaints) were submitted online to eCOGRA throughout 2010, an increase of 10 percent over 2009. 67 of these concerned companies not accredited through eCOGRA and therefore outside the ambit of the FGA’s authority.

A further 125 were found to be invalid, being fraudulent, non-specific or abusive and anonymous in nature.

The remaining, or valid, 654 disputes (2009: 628 complaints) concerned cash-in problems (44 percent); Bonus issues (25 percent); and Locked accounts (19 percent).

12 percent were categorised as ‘other’ and involved software fairness, responsible gambling and spamming allegations.

Over the 12 months, an average of 43 percent of disputes was resolved in favour of the player.

"The small decrease in the percentage of disputes resolved in favour of the player, and a corresponding increase in allegations of unjust bonus disqualification have been proved through detailed investigation to be connected," Rees reports.

"A fraudulent player syndicate was caught out by sophisticated security systems, resulting in its members submitting allegations which subsequently proved to be false, but had to be painstakingly followed up."

The free eCOGRA disputes resolution service has been in operation since 2004, and has handled a total of almost 4 500 disputes over that period. Almost 49 percent of these were resolved in favour of the player.

The level of disputes per accredited eCOGRA site was again remarkably low for the volumes of business transacted, with a typical accredited site delivering only 0.38 disputes on average per month throughout the year (2009: 0.37).

In her responsible gambling reportage to eCOGRA’s Independent Directors this month, Fair Gaming Advocate Tex Rees reveals that last year the player protection organisation carried out responsible gambling training at operator bases instead of at its London head office.

Eight international operator and software provider bases were visited by the eCOGRA team for the full day sessions, which trained a total of 268 employees, Rees reported.

Typical training sessions included:

"We used to host the training at a single location with a small number of delegates attending from a number of different operators," Rees notes. "The delegates were then tasked with training their staff when they returned to their companies.

"We now provide this important training at operators’ sites as a far more cost effective way to reach more employees directly and properly train those who are on the front line and are most likely to initially deal with problem gamblers.

"This also allows staff to discuss problems they have experienced in specific circumstances and receive professional feedback. The training is designed particularly for staff who interact with customers, such as call centre representatives and VIP department employees, but is also of value to staff in the marketing, retention, fraud & risk departments," she said.

"Delivering the training at the operator’s premises additionally helps us to customise the training to the operator’s brands and to meet any specific needs that have been noted at that level."

Taking the initiative to the front line has been a popular move, according to a number of complimentary assessments from operators. A typical report from a Betclic employee attending the course assessed the course as being informative and interesting.

"It definitely deepened my understanding of spotting the triggers for problem gambling and confirmed the importance of making available a range of responsible gambling tools for vulnerable players," the delegate wrote.

Andrew Beveridge, chief executive officer of eCOGRA, said that training staff to deal professionally and sensitively with responsible gambling issues was a critical element in any gambling environment, and was regarded as a priority in the eCOGRA standards for best operational practice.

"The percentage of gamblers who develop a problem may be relatively small – around 2 percent – but these are vulnerable members of society and they deserve appropriate and sympathetic but firm treatment by properly trained staff," he said. "These training initiatives have proved increasingly popular, and we expect to extend our coverage in this area further in the future."