William Hill could be taking a BIG gamble by taking on Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Service, but then again taking BIG gambles is their business! The British Bingo industry has done this and won when Mecca went to European Union Supreme courts to support their contention that they were being over-taxed on ‘interval’ bingo games. It was worth the fight for Mecca (the Rank Group); we can’t remember the exact figure, but at the end of the day HMRS had to pay back over £36 million. This sum made a very nice difference to their bottom line in the year it was paid.

William Hill wants to challenge the Tax on "online" gambling profits – they are moaning about 15% – but we think they should count themselves lucky, this is what land operators have to pay out, and land bingo operators are required to pay out even more. 15% is the proposed tax level for online gambling businesses, and quite honestly, as they have had to pay no tax at all for more than ten years in the biz, what the heck is their problem?

We’ll tell you what their problem is – In the 2012 half year report, William Hill profits reached a whopping £68.9 million just for their online business. Who wants to pay out 15% of money like that, when they have previously needed to pay nothing at all? Taxation for this industry in the UK is only planned to fall due from the end of 2014, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer wants to raise approximately £200 million from online betting. We would assume that this amount also includes revenues from other forms of Internet gambling enterprises.

Virtually all of the large bookmaking and other gambling firms in the UK, which offer online services have moved operations to offshore sites such as Malta, Gibraltar, Alderney and Isle of Mann, in order to escape UK taxes. But if we think about it logically, while they are offering services to a UK audience and earning profits from this, surely they should be subject to some sort of taxation. We have to remember that there are only two sure things in life – one is death, the other is taxes, and there is no escaping the facts.

The company has already briefed their lawyers to build a case against the proposed taxation, which will be a "point of consumption tax". Lawyers that specialize in gambling law have warned that under European Law it is illegal to restrict free movement of goods or services for tax purposes, but this has not stopped countries such as Belgium and other European countries from jealously guarding their online gambling borders. Whether William Hill will be successful or not, based on these precedents and what has become tacit, remains to be seen. But whatever happens in the end, it seems that William Hill is taking no chances, and just like Baden Powell taught the Scouts – we should always be prepared.

There has plenty of interest been happening again in the world of the online gambling industry. First off, after reading that a Full Tilt\PokerStars deal was complete speculation and was not going to happen; rumour is rife again in the news that PokerStars is going to pull the beleaguered brand out of the dung-heap they have found themselves in. It seems that for Full Tilt Poker; they are still deep in the you know what, but it’s only the depth that varies. I think we need to stop speculating and let’s wait to see what happens in real time. Only when PokerStars confirms that the rumours are true, will we be prepared to believe it. In recent reports from Gaming Intelligence, this deal is now for real.

More rumours were rife last year over whether Zynga poker were going to monetize their poker game, and get into gambling online. This seems to have now been confirmed and Mark Pincus says they will foray into real-money gambling online in 2013. As CEO of this billion dollar company, he has recently also lost Billionaire status when the stocks of Zynga took a nose-dive and dropped 40% in value. It looks like he is going to have to do something drastic to get share prices up again. Interestingly enough, purely online gambling concerns are looking at getting into social gambling now too.

Brent Buckley from Absolute poker was in the news again. He is part of the “Black Friday Eleven” who were indicted for conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud. Buckley is the former payment processor for Absolute Poker. Sentence was passed for fourteen months in prison, but then he did admit guilt in December. Ira Rubin got a three year sentence and was labelled a “con man and fraudster.” Rubin was also accused of illegally processing payments for Absolute Poker, PokerStars and FullTilt.

There has been some good news in online gambling too, as a couple of Playtech jackpots were landed. One – the ‘Holy Grail Jackpot’ from the Spamalot slot which is based on the Monty Python series. This lucky winner landed a mahoosive £692,209.05 prize. The other big winner was playing the Iron Man video slot and landed an impressive £558,306.01. Playtech is understandably proud to have been able to deliver these wins.

Look out for some great Olympic-themed promotions now that the summer games have started, and we are not only referring to sports-betting online. Online Bingo clubs are gamely going along with the flow, and British-based bingo sites are the place to look out for these offers.

We checked out William Hill where the Olympics aren’t really mentioned, but they are celebrating Glorious Goodwood, and we also checked out Costa Bingo where they are running a Track and Field event. Wink, Posh, Red Bus, Bingo Street, 88 Ladies and Tasty Bingo have a £10K Bingo for Gold event running as well as a £10K free summer Joy Pot, so, if you get tired of watching equestrian events, gymnastics, football and swimming, you can always get active too and play online bingo.

William Hill might be one of the biggest bookmaking brands in the UK, but when they heard that the USA might be making online gambling legal in the near future, they were madly keen to get into this market. First off, gambling online will start intrastate, and this means individual states will be responsible for making their own laws in this regard.

One of the first at the starting gate for state-legislation was Nevada, and William Hill took a very big gamble by investing $53.25 million in three Nevada gambling concerns. These acquisitions are; Brandywine Bookmaking, American Wagering Inc and Club Cal Neva Satellite Race and Sportsbook.

It appears as though this gamble has paid off and will continue to pay off big time, as the need to supplement state coffers through additional tax revenue schemes, spreads like wild-fire throughout the USA. Nevada state administration has ensured that they are now legal to offer online gambling licenses, and William Hill is one of the first to be granted a license from the Nevada Gaming Commission.

William Hill has a wealth of experience in the online gambling business; this brand is not only about High Street retail betting shops. They have been offering super services online for a good deal of time in the UK. The UK as we know has a well-developed infrastructure for the Internet gambling industry. They offer online sports betting, online bingo, a casino, virtual gaming such as Rugby Union, snooker and more; poker, financials, skill, mobile, Arcade and Vegas-type games. UK customers have developed an eclectic and sophisticated taste for these types of games, so, William Hill is well placed in Nevada to offer a superior online service.

It made good sense for this brand to get into the US at the very beginning, as getting a foothold in the US market while legislation is under review, is the way to make sure they get in on the ground-floor with a chance to win. Online gambling was extant in the USA prior to 2006; however, the promulgation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act (UIGEA) changed all of this. So, essentially the USA is six years behind the UK in relationship to this virtual industry – we all know just how fast technology advances, so, they are way behind.

This is a significant step by William Hill as the ban is expected to be relaxed in the future state-by-state. To date we have no idea if UIGEA will change Federally, but according to Federal Government. It is up to each state to decide whether they wish online gambling to be made legal.

The acquisitions of the three Nevada-based gambling concerns were dependent on the outcome of the William Hill license applications being granted. Now that this has taken place, we can expect it to be all systems go. Obviously the sooner they get websites up and running, the sooner they can expect a return on their investment.

There are some fabulous wealth creation ideas and schemes doing the rounds on the World Wide Web. While some are scams, most are pretty genuine, it’s just how you look at the scheme that makes the difference. We all know that knowledge is key to success, so the more we know about any wealth-creating scheme, the better informed we will be. However, if you are prepared to take a gamble, and don’t feel like working for your money, why not take a look at online gambling? There is definitely money to be made, but you must realise that luck counts!

Online gambling – that means over the Internet – is a mainstream industry today. It is regulated by authoritative bodies such as eCogra, and others. Many online gambling firms have gone the IPO route, and are listed on major stock exchanges. The London Stock exchange probably listing the lions’ share of these firms, as the UK is where the online gambling industry is also the most mature.
We find names such as William Hill, Virgin, Stan James, Victor Chandler, Betfair, Paddy Power, Gala, Mecca and Bet365 online, and we find many more too. We find websites powered by major movers and shakers in the online gaming industry; brands such as Microgaming, Playtech and Net Entertainment, and if you think we are scamming you, let’s take a look at the facts.

All three of these software brands operate massive networked slots games. This means there is loads of money going, if only you are lucky enough to win. But there are loads more ways to win when gambling online, than wagering on the slots. After all, even though the prize money is huge, and we are talking in the ‘millions’, slots are still a long…long shot!

More and more people are taking their online gambling and going mobile with it; in other words getting their gambling ‘on-the-go’. The biggest majority of gambling fans getting their thrills the mobile way are the sports-betting clique. In the UK and Ireland growth has been phenomenal.

Now fans take their favourite sports – football being only one – and get some extra pleasure by placing money on it. Online betting exchanges such as Betfair are popular too; it takes the bookie out of the equation, so, fans can decide their own odds, as well as bet against each-others’ predictive powers. Punters find being their own bookie great fun, and it adds an extra element of excitement to the game.

For now, if you are not an advanced punter, and you would like to play online slots to get a better feel for these games, let’s offer you extra incentive. On Christmas Eve 2010 at Bet 365; Tlaloo1 won £3 922 736 playing Clover Rollover. Microgaming has paid out over €320 million worth of prizes and has made something like 17 slots millionaires; including one whopping win of €6 374 434.00, which was once a world record slots win. But Net Entertainment now holds that world record with a massive online slots pay-out of over NINE MILLION EURO. So, prizes are getting better, and yes, there is big bucks to be made.

Currently the Spanish economy is really not doing well. In fact a good number of European countries are struggling and some are looking at internet gambling as an additional revenue stream. Spain is hoping for windfall from online gambling, but as this industry will be brand new, it is hard to say that will actually take place. One thing we can be assured of is that the Spaniards love a gamble, just as much, if not more than the rest of us do – especially considering their love of sports; in particular football.. Whether they will have the money to spend…well that remains to be seen?

The online gambling shake-up takes place this week, and the Government is hoping it will capture and audience as well as some much-needed tax income into their state coffers. Newly licensed companies are currently slugging it out to win to win market share, and there is definitely a sense that online poker and sports betting fans are lining up to take part. The Spanish government is heavily indebted to the EU and others, so, awarded licenses to operators for the first time on Friday the 1st June.

According to the outgoing central bank head – he recently warned that income tax in this country may really fall short as they struggle to refinance €98 billion in debt and deficit of €52 billion.
While the amount of tax to be raised from this new industry is bound to be small in comparison to the size of its debt and deficit, we all know every little bit helps. Online gambling firms will be taxed on gross profits, at between 10% and 25%. There will be no tax on individual wagers, so, it is not at the point of sale.

According to the gaming association, the Spanish market in this industry sector could be worth more than €800 million 0r $1 billion by 2014. So far the sector has been dominated by foreign players, even within Spain, and this includes with Codere – a large Spanish betting concern. With others about to enter into the fray we can’t wait to see what will take place.

Spain has no limit on the amount of licenses it will award, which unlike most European countries. Take for example Germany which is only allowing seven for the time being. So far, fifty-nine gambling firms have applied for these licenses. Only a small portion of the fifty-nine applicants have been turned down, and only those which have not met all the necessary requirements need have fear of being turned down.

Sportingbet and Bwin.party digital (both London Stock exchange listed) are already active in the unregulated Spanish market, and are expected to be main contenders. Betfair, Ladbroke and 888 will be joining the crowd. Currently his online gambling sector is considered to be ‘on fire’. People are also fully aware that if you don’t have an online presence, then there is probably no future for your business. This tenet does not only apply to the Internet gambling industry, it basically applies to us all.