Bingo bonuses: should affiliates help ease the burden?
Online bingo and casino firms have told iGaming Business that affiliates should soak up some of the cost of the forthcoming extension of UK point-of-consumption tax to gaming bonuses.
Elad Dvir, director of the Dragonfish bingo network, summed up operator sentiment at the recent Online Bingo and Slots Summit held at the Hippodrome casino in London when he said: “I think affiliates should take some of the hit at least.”
Licensed operators have already absorbed the general impact of PoC since its introduction in late 2014, and now face having to soak up this extra 15% duty already levied on sports free bets.
To find out more on the bonus tax and operator reactions read the full analysis (paywall)
Although the 1st August 2017 date of implementation has been delayed due to parliament running out of time to fully debate the Finance Bill before the summer recess, the tax proposals are still set to be introduced in the near future with no fundamental changes.
Many operators are planning or in the process of implementing ways to circumvent or mitigate the impact of the tax, moving their business strategies away from bonus and free spins, which will also be taxed on real-money spin value.
Some, like GVC’s Foxy, are looking to affiliates to drive larger volumes of players to their sites in the hope to counter the negative impact of the tax, as well as a way to make larger profits before it is introduced.
With bonus tax seeming inevitable it will be interesting to see what paths bingo and casino operators take in the next few months and how they handle their key affiliate and content partnerships.
To find out more on the bonus tax and operator reactions read the full analysis (paywall)
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