It appears that the great United Kingdom online casino provider William Hill plc may be forced to move overseas.  The industry has speculated that William Hill was planning on making a move to operating in Gibraltar for quite some time.  Now a statement from the company has confirmed its intentions.  This is bound to generate ripples throughout online casinos and the internet gambling industry in Europe.

The reason for William Hill’s departure comes down to simple math.  Online gambling tax in the United Kingdom is not nearly as friendly to operators as tax found in off shore countries, particularly Gibraltar.

In the United Kingdom William Hill plc is currently being forced to pay 15 percent tax in order to operate legally in the country.  In Gibraltar operators are free to offer online casinos for a fraction of the tax found in the United Kingdom; a mere 1.5 percent tax.  It will be hard for the United Kingdom to compete with these long established off shore markets, especially if taxes remain as high as they are.

William Hill may be the first of the mass exodus.  Ladbrokes has already disclosed that if William Hill leaves the United Kingdom, they would be forced to re-access their operating strategy just for the sake of remaining competitive.  William Hill could change online casinos for the United Kingdom.

William Hill has openly discussed the some 90 jobs from its sportsbook operations will be sent overseas to various offshore locations, mainly in Gibraltar.  Online casinos may stay in the off shore markets for a bit longer.