英国政府发布新的可以赚钱的网络游戏立法草案(2)

　　译文：

　　The British government released a new can make money online game draft legislation

　　UK Sports and Tourism Minster Hugh Robertson published a new legislation draft that would impose new rules and regulations regarding real money online gaming and sports betting in the country.

　　Earlier the year the UK government commented that it would develop and adopt a new online gaming law that would address the supposed shortcomings of the current law that was adopted in 2005. The new online gaming law intends to impose new and stricter rules on UK-facing offshore online gaming companies.

　　The government's main idea behind the new online gaming legislation is to force offshore online gaming operators to apply for a UK gaming license in order for them to be able to offer their services in the United Kingdom.

　　At this moment foreign online gaming companies are not required to apply for a UK license in case they already own a license issued by a European Economic Area member state. This allows foreign operators to establish themselves in so-called tax-heavens such as Gibraltar and avoid paying the large taxes imposed by the UK government.

　　Minister Robertson explained that "these proposals will ensure that British consumers enjoy consistent standards of protection, regardless of where a gambling business is based, and will also help the fight against illegal activity and corruption in sports betting."

　　Online gaming operators, however argue that these measures have nothing to do with player protection. Operators such as William Hill and Ladbrokes have pointed out that they already comply with the player protection and security standards imposed in the UK because the same standards and rules are also in place in other EU jurisdictions where these companies are licensed.

　　As such, operators and some industry observers believe that the reason the UK government intends to implement a new online gaming law is in order to be able to force offshore operators to pay taxes in the country. A document recently released by the UK Treasury hints that this tax would most likely be 15% on gross gaming profits.

　　Operators believe that forcing offshore companies to pay such a high tax is a mistake and would only determine smaller operators - that make up the majority of gaming companies in the UK - to go rouge and offer their services without a license, endangering players and causing a loss of tax revenue for the state.

　　Most offshore UK-facing online gaming companies aren't necessarily against the idea of a tax based on the point of consumption. What they disagree with is the level of this tax, that according to them would be too high and would result in a huge loss of revenue.