New Regulation Forces Mansion Poker From UK iGaming Market

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Tuesday, September 16th, 2014 | Written by Lucy Brown

On October 1st, the UK’s new licensing and regulatory laws are due to be implemented requiring online gambling companies to obtain a UK license and pay 15% tax on any profits generated from UK bettors. The new gambling legislation is expected to cause many of the country’s 150+ online gambling operations to exit the UK market, and leading the exodus is Mansion Poker which has now said it is ready to abandon the UK market altogether. The Gibraltar-based company subsequently released an e-mail to its UK customers, stating the following:

“Due to changing regulations regarding online gaming in the United Kingdom, we must inform you that Mansion Poker is required to close its doors to UK players on September 15th, 2014. As a result, we kindly request that you withdraw any and all funds you have in your Mansion Poker account.”

Players advised to join TitanBet

The same e-mail recommends that existing Mansion Poker players should consider opening new accounts with Titanbet Poker, a site also hosted on the iPoker Network, where players will then be given a generous 200% first deposit bonus up to £1,200, whilst having their Mansion Poker player points safeguard by their new site.

“After you have created your account, please contact Titanbet Poker support. The new room will match your Points and VIP level from Mansion Poker so that you can get a head start in your poker play,” added the e-mail.

Exodus ahead of Oct 1st deadline

Amendments to the country’s Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 are set to go into effect on October 1st, after which any non-licensed operators attempting to circumvent the new gambling laws are likely to face significant fines.

The Mansion Group currently has a “very marginal” exposure to the UK, with the company having a much larger presence in the Asian and mainland Europe iGaming markets. Therefore, while Mansion Poker’s departure will have a minimal impact on the UK’s domestic market, it is likely to herald the start of a much bigger exodus as the new regulations takes hold, with many big firms operating from offshore jurisdiction expected to follow suit, including William Hill, Ladbrokes, Victor Chandler, Bwin.Party, and BetFair.

UK market highly lucrative

Whilst dozens of online operators are expected to announce their withdrawal from the UK iGaming market over the next couple of weeks, the upshot is that the huge UK online gambling market will still prove a huge draw for legitimate international companies wanting to act responsibly in a regulated market. Last year, for instance, the UK online gambling market was worth £2.5 billion ($4.26bn), or 8% of the worldwide market, with online poker accounting for £329 million ($559m) of that total.

Therefore, the UK Gambling Commission’s Chief Executive Jenny Williams says she expects more than 150 companies to apply for licences over the next few weeks. Commenting on Mansion Poker’s decision to quit the UK, an article on pokersites.com, explains:

“The UK market is highly lucrative, and most major online gambling operators are expected to stay, but for some, such as Mansion, it may simply not be worth it. Mansion flirted with the UK several years ago when it was the main sponsor of Premiership soccer team Tottenham Hotspur, but it failed to crack the market in a significant way, and the large part of its customer base has always been based in mainland Europe.”

Clampdown on grey market operators

The UK Gambling Commission’s new structure will serve as a model for other countries around the world to follow, as a UK licence holders will not be permitted to generate more than 3% of their iGaming revenues from so-called ‘grey markets.’ Therefore, the new gambling regime will force many of the world’s biggest online gambling operators to seek formal local licensing, or quit domestic market altogether, with only the smallest of companies likely to attempt to operate in a grey market manner.

For long, offshore operators operating in ‘grey markets’ have been blamed for diverting millions of dollars away from regulated iGaming markets, and not allowing these markets to flourish. In both Spain and France, for instance, as much as 50% of online poker players are believed to play on unlicensed sites, constituting a major drain for the countries’ beleaguered online poker industries. Highlighting the challenges posed by unregulated, offshore operators, former ARJEL President Jean-François Vilotte, said:

“Poker is going through a difficult time, but this is not something that is happening only in France, as Spain and Italy are experiencing a similar trend as well. Seen from a broader perspective, this is a problem of legalized markets competing against non-legalized ones.”