New UK Gambling Law Forces Bookmakers to Consider Raising Betting Odds

With the new UK gambling bill set to be passed, sportsbooks do not seem to see other options but to raise betting odds.

The new bill is set to affect both traditional and online sportsbooks in UK, as the government wants to impose new taxes on bookmakers. The Point of Consumption Tax policy will levy a 15% tax on revenue made in the UK.
Betting companies are quite reluctant to adjust their odds, as doing so would hurt their business operations.However, currently this remains the only viable solution.

Simon Oaten, Deloitte’s betting and gaming head, gave indications that implementing adjusted odds will be a challenging job for mobile internet betting companies.

“It’s going to be difficult for operators in the sports betting environment to adjust price too much because there are operators that already pay this level of tax and are offering similar prices online.”

There are still possibilities for bookmakers

Oaten also gave assurances that not everything is lost, as traditional and mobile betting firms still harbor some potential income opportunities.

“It’s not all doom and gloom for sports betting companies. In mobile and bet in-play activity there is less price sensitivity so there will be opportunities there for margin to be increased to account for point of consumption tax.”

The fact that numerous bets are played during in-play betting can comfort betting firms.For instance, football is a prime example where multiple bets are wagered in a 90 minute span, something that should raise the spirits of bookmakers.