Greek gambling firm OPAP announced a collapse in net profits of 72.1 percent, to €141.1m in 2013, which it attributed to the introduction of a new 30 percent gross gaming revenue tax in the country. Full-year revenue fell 6.6 percent from €4bn in 2012 to €3.7bn in the last 12 months, while gross gaming revenue dropped 6.3 percent to €1.2bn.
Rounding out a disastrous year, EBITDA fell 67.1 percent, from €673.8m to €221.7m in 2013.
OPAP's fourth fourth-quarter performance was equally as bleak, with net profit reaching just €29.4m, 77.6 percent lower than the €133.8m achieved in the corresponding period last year.
Kamil Ziegler, chairman and chief executive officer of OPAP, said that despite the disappointing overall performance, the firm’s results in Q4 were “encouraging” and is keen to push for further improvements in 2014.
“Within an overall difficult year for the Greek economy, OPAP’s financial results of the fourth quarter mark an encouraging trend,” Ziegler said.
“The addition of extra features in a variety of products in our portfolio, along with the stabilisation of consumer spending, led to an increase of revenues year-on-year, which is a positive indication for 2014.
“It is important to note that 2013 was the first year that a 30% gross gaming revenue tax was applied, which in terms of OPAP’s numbers translates into a yield of € 345 million for the Greek state.
“We remain focused on the improvement of OPAP’s operational efficiency as well as on the modernisation of our product portfolio, towards the benefit of all our stakeholders: customers, agents, shareholders and the Greek state and society as a whole.”
April 03, 2014
April 02, 2014
The End Is Near for Online Gambling in Costa Rica
In the last few years, the online gambling industry of Costa Rica has experienced one major upheaval after another. On one hand, there’s the overzealous law enforcement and prosecutorial actions taken by the United States; on the other hand, powerful lobby groups are slandering Internet gaming and wagering operations in Costa Rica for the purpose of encouraging lawmakers to allow gambling in various jurisdictions. At the current rate of events, online gambling may disappear in Costa Rica by the end of this decade.
Writing for the respected online magazine Slate, technology columnist and investor Jon Nathanson recently predicted that online gambling:
[...] will be broadly legal in the United States by the end of this decade. It will start with online poker, which is currently legal only in Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. But it will expand from there, both in categories of games and in geographic acceptance. This is already happening, to a certain extent: The wheel’s started spinning, and the ball is in play. When it drops, the video gaming business will win big. The makers of today’s mobile games will build tomorrow’s mobile casinos.
Mr. Nathanson’s wager is one that The Costa Rica Star can certainly get behind. This was explained in October 2013 by the bold move taken by the American Gaming Association (AGA) in adopting the film Runner Runner, which was based on a story about online poker in Costa Rica even though it was not filmed here, as a cautionary tale about the fictionally shady Internet gambling industry in this country.
The Runner Runner article was followed by another look into various other reasons why online casinos and sportsbooks are moving their operations out of Costa Rica:
More than two years have passed since Black Friday, and the online gambling industry in Costa Rica has shrunk considerably. In the sportsbook world, the proliferation of Pay-Per-Head (PPH) business models has consolidated sports wagering down to just a few call centers. Bookies with U.S. clients can make use of these PPH services and run their underground business from a smartphone.
Notice how sportsbooks can streamline their operations through PPH services that can be accessed by smartphones. Mr, Nathanson argues that the mobile platform will be the ace in the hole for the AGA to push their gambling legalization proposals through across the U.S.:
Worldwide, revenues from online casinos exceed $32 billion, and Juniper Research estimates that revenues from gambling on mobile devices alone will top $100 billion by 2017. As more states soften gambling laws, and more follow the example set by Nevada and Delaware, expect the $12 billion mobile gaming industry to pay close attention. Zynga, King, and other giants in the mobile gaming business won’t be content to sit on the sidelines. I suspect they’ll strike partnerships with state-based gambling companies to provide the software for the next generation of virtual casinos.
Since the great majority of online gambling and sportsbooks operations in Costa Rica cater to U.S. players, the gradual legalization in that North American nation will spell the end for the industry in this country -and it could all go down in the next few years.
Writing for the respected online magazine Slate, technology columnist and investor Jon Nathanson recently predicted that online gambling:
[...] will be broadly legal in the United States by the end of this decade. It will start with online poker, which is currently legal only in Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. But it will expand from there, both in categories of games and in geographic acceptance. This is already happening, to a certain extent: The wheel’s started spinning, and the ball is in play. When it drops, the video gaming business will win big. The makers of today’s mobile games will build tomorrow’s mobile casinos.
Mr. Nathanson’s wager is one that The Costa Rica Star can certainly get behind. This was explained in October 2013 by the bold move taken by the American Gaming Association (AGA) in adopting the film Runner Runner, which was based on a story about online poker in Costa Rica even though it was not filmed here, as a cautionary tale about the fictionally shady Internet gambling industry in this country.
The Runner Runner article was followed by another look into various other reasons why online casinos and sportsbooks are moving their operations out of Costa Rica:
More than two years have passed since Black Friday, and the online gambling industry in Costa Rica has shrunk considerably. In the sportsbook world, the proliferation of Pay-Per-Head (PPH) business models has consolidated sports wagering down to just a few call centers. Bookies with U.S. clients can make use of these PPH services and run their underground business from a smartphone.
Notice how sportsbooks can streamline their operations through PPH services that can be accessed by smartphones. Mr, Nathanson argues that the mobile platform will be the ace in the hole for the AGA to push their gambling legalization proposals through across the U.S.:
Worldwide, revenues from online casinos exceed $32 billion, and Juniper Research estimates that revenues from gambling on mobile devices alone will top $100 billion by 2017. As more states soften gambling laws, and more follow the example set by Nevada and Delaware, expect the $12 billion mobile gaming industry to pay close attention. Zynga, King, and other giants in the mobile gaming business won’t be content to sit on the sidelines. I suspect they’ll strike partnerships with state-based gambling companies to provide the software for the next generation of virtual casinos.
Since the great majority of online gambling and sportsbooks operations in Costa Rica cater to U.S. players, the gradual legalization in that North American nation will spell the end for the industry in this country -and it could all go down in the next few years.
April 01, 2014
PKR and Sofia Lovgren part ways
The young Swedish starlet Sofia Lovgren has parted ways with her sponsors PKR prompting speculation that she may have been headhunted to become the latest addition to the teams at either PokerStars or Full Tilt.
Lovgren leaves after four-years and in her farewell message to the community pledged to reveal her ‘next big adventure’ in the next few weeks. PKR Danski, released the news onto the PKR forum, and he also made it known that there were bigger things to come from Lovgren after he wrote, “She has been offered an opportunity which any of us would find hard to decline.”
Danski went on to pour lavish praise on the young Swede, known to the PKR community as Wellbet, when he said, “Of the more than 20 Team Pros we have been associated with, Sofia has had the greatest impact on our own players, and outside PKR’s walls. Her poker ability and more importantly her loyalty, professionalism, determination and work ethic are the reasons she has done so well, and why new doors have opened for her.”
“PKR has been like my second family and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with so many genuine and nice people and to represent this unique poker site and community.” Said Lovgren in her statement.
So Lovgren leaves some pretty tall high heels to fill and that burden now falls onto the slender shoulders of Eleanor ‘Elz442’ Gudger who joined the team just days before Lovgren announced her separation from the company.
Gudger doesn’t have too many big live score to her name, with the exception of a sixth place finish at the 2013 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Ladies Event, but she is the most successful female MTT player of all-time on PKR, amassing $225,000 in cashes – enough to give her a place in the PKR Hall of Fame.
She becomes the third female poker player to earn a PKR contract after the aforementioned Lovgren and the PKR.fr hotshot Patty ‘BabyTes’ Beaumier.
Lovgren leaves after four-years and in her farewell message to the community pledged to reveal her ‘next big adventure’ in the next few weeks. PKR Danski, released the news onto the PKR forum, and he also made it known that there were bigger things to come from Lovgren after he wrote, “She has been offered an opportunity which any of us would find hard to decline.”
Danski went on to pour lavish praise on the young Swede, known to the PKR community as Wellbet, when he said, “Of the more than 20 Team Pros we have been associated with, Sofia has had the greatest impact on our own players, and outside PKR’s walls. Her poker ability and more importantly her loyalty, professionalism, determination and work ethic are the reasons she has done so well, and why new doors have opened for her.”
“PKR has been like my second family and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with so many genuine and nice people and to represent this unique poker site and community.” Said Lovgren in her statement.
So Lovgren leaves some pretty tall high heels to fill and that burden now falls onto the slender shoulders of Eleanor ‘Elz442’ Gudger who joined the team just days before Lovgren announced her separation from the company.
Gudger doesn’t have too many big live score to her name, with the exception of a sixth place finish at the 2013 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Ladies Event, but she is the most successful female MTT player of all-time on PKR, amassing $225,000 in cashes – enough to give her a place in the PKR Hall of Fame.
She becomes the third female poker player to earn a PKR contract after the aforementioned Lovgren and the PKR.fr hotshot Patty ‘BabyTes’ Beaumier.
Ads That Show How Gambling Can Reduce You From Royalty To Nothing
Brazillian ad agency Revolution has created some gorgeous ads for their client, Quatro Estações.
Instituto Quatro Estações is institute for the treatment of psychiatric disorders in Brazil.
In these beautifully art directed ads, it shows the damages that gambling can do to you, reducing you from being a King, or Queen, to being haggard and out of energy.
Instituto Quatro Estações is institute for the treatment of psychiatric disorders in Brazil.
In these beautifully art directed ads, it shows the damages that gambling can do to you, reducing you from being a King, or Queen, to being haggard and out of energy.
March 31, 2014
Ed Miliband promises to ban FOBTs
Labour leader and hopeful new Prime Minister in 2015 Ed Miliband has promised that should he get into power that he will promise to remove Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) from high street bookmakers.
He has also offered to give local councils more powers to stop what he called “clustering” of betting shops on town and city high streets.
Mr Miliband also said that he would change the 2005 Gambling Act to give councils the power to review betting shop licenses in their area in hopes that it will help to reduce the negative impact that gambling and betting in bookmakers may have on communities.
It is clear that the Labour leader sees the FOBT issue as a vote winner is areas of the country that FOBTs have been criticized for problem gambling, however the bookmaking industry says that without the machines many of their local high street businesses would go out of business as horse and dog racing betting declines with the move to online gambling becoming more popular.
He has also offered to give local councils more powers to stop what he called “clustering” of betting shops on town and city high streets.
Mr Miliband also said that he would change the 2005 Gambling Act to give councils the power to review betting shop licenses in their area in hopes that it will help to reduce the negative impact that gambling and betting in bookmakers may have on communities.
It is clear that the Labour leader sees the FOBT issue as a vote winner is areas of the country that FOBTs have been criticized for problem gambling, however the bookmaking industry says that without the machines many of their local high street businesses would go out of business as horse and dog racing betting declines with the move to online gambling becoming more popular.
March 28, 2014
Paddy Power Wants You To Bet On Copenhagen Zoo “Dead Animal” Prop
Paddy Power just can’t seem to get out of its own way these days, can it? Maybe it’s become trapped by the identity it has created, or it’s just lost any semblance of sensitivity to certain things that need to be taken with utmost seriousness.
The Irish bookmaker already received a huge backlash from its ill-fated Oscar Pistorius murder trial prop bet ad to the point that even the Advertising Standards Authority got involved, reprimanding Paddy for bringing “advertising into disrepute” after the ad became the most complained-about UK advert of all time, drawing a record 5,525 complaints from readers.
Well, Paddy better get ready for a fresh batch of complaints after it opened yet another prop that a lot of people, especially animal lovers, will find as absurdly insensitive. Murder is again a central theme of the prop, although except instead of people, Paddy posted new prop on “which animal will be killed next at Copenhagen Zoo”.
If you’ve been keeping up with the news lately, you might have seen, read, or heard about the controversial things happening in the Copenhagen Zoo these days involving the euthanizing of healthy animals because of so-called “breeding procedures”.
Earlier this week, the Danish zoo became the subject of massive criticism when it killed four healthy lions, which was actually preceded by the intentional popping of a healthy giraffe weeks ago. The particular incident with Marius the Giraffe became ridiculously morbid when zoo officials shot the poor animal in the head and then dissecting him in front of a public crowd that included horrified children, after which they fed him to the zoo’s lions.
Apparently, that was all Paddy Power needed to decide to open a prop bet on what animal will be killed off next at the zoo. A zebra was earmarked as the favorite at 5/1, followed by an antelope at 6/1, a polar bear at 8/1, a tiger at 14/1, and a hippopotamus at 40/1.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, Paddy Power tried to negotiate buying any remaining lions and attempted to “save” Marius, offering to rehouse him in Ireland where he would have taken on a new life as a “racing giraffe”. Neither of those offers were reportedly accepted by Ulrich Lindegaard Christensen, the zoo’s sales manager.
So Paddy did what it believed was its version of a public service announcement, opening betting on the prop because it wanted to help “draw further attention on the zoo”.
We’re calling “lame reason” on that one, and quite frankly, and quite frankly, it’s an embarrassing affront on another publicity to stunt to draw further attention to its own company.
If Paddy really had the strength to put weight on those sentiments, it could’ve done so in other ways, and not by using murdering animals as a reason for people to bet on its site.
In a lot of ways, this is worse than the Oscar Pistorius murder trial prop. We’re not jut talking about murder in the past tense as it relates to a current trial, but a the possibility of another innocent animal getting killed for reasons that are, in itself, absurd.
The Irish bookmaker already received a huge backlash from its ill-fated Oscar Pistorius murder trial prop bet ad to the point that even the Advertising Standards Authority got involved, reprimanding Paddy for bringing “advertising into disrepute” after the ad became the most complained-about UK advert of all time, drawing a record 5,525 complaints from readers.
Well, Paddy better get ready for a fresh batch of complaints after it opened yet another prop that a lot of people, especially animal lovers, will find as absurdly insensitive. Murder is again a central theme of the prop, although except instead of people, Paddy posted new prop on “which animal will be killed next at Copenhagen Zoo”.
If you’ve been keeping up with the news lately, you might have seen, read, or heard about the controversial things happening in the Copenhagen Zoo these days involving the euthanizing of healthy animals because of so-called “breeding procedures”.
Earlier this week, the Danish zoo became the subject of massive criticism when it killed four healthy lions, which was actually preceded by the intentional popping of a healthy giraffe weeks ago. The particular incident with Marius the Giraffe became ridiculously morbid when zoo officials shot the poor animal in the head and then dissecting him in front of a public crowd that included horrified children, after which they fed him to the zoo’s lions.
Apparently, that was all Paddy Power needed to decide to open a prop bet on what animal will be killed off next at the zoo. A zebra was earmarked as the favorite at 5/1, followed by an antelope at 6/1, a polar bear at 8/1, a tiger at 14/1, and a hippopotamus at 40/1.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, Paddy Power tried to negotiate buying any remaining lions and attempted to “save” Marius, offering to rehouse him in Ireland where he would have taken on a new life as a “racing giraffe”. Neither of those offers were reportedly accepted by Ulrich Lindegaard Christensen, the zoo’s sales manager.
So Paddy did what it believed was its version of a public service announcement, opening betting on the prop because it wanted to help “draw further attention on the zoo”.
We’re calling “lame reason” on that one, and quite frankly, and quite frankly, it’s an embarrassing affront on another publicity to stunt to draw further attention to its own company.
If Paddy really had the strength to put weight on those sentiments, it could’ve done so in other ways, and not by using murdering animals as a reason for people to bet on its site.
In a lot of ways, this is worse than the Oscar Pistorius murder trial prop. We’re not jut talking about murder in the past tense as it relates to a current trial, but a the possibility of another innocent animal getting killed for reasons that are, in itself, absurd.
March 27, 2014
Russia blocks online gambling firms
Russian authorities have made Internet Service Providers (ISP) in the country block online poker websites from offering their services to Russian players.
Although it was back in late 2012 that the Russian government said that ISPs should block online gambling sites it was mainly online casino sites that were blocked and not online poker, now with the latest move many in the online poker industry both players and companies are concerned about the latest developments, with Russian players making up a large portion of the online sectors players.
The Deputy Head Maxim Ksenzov said that the blocking of the online sites has occurred at the request of the prosecutor’s office based on these court decisions in 2012, why they have only just decided to get round to it now is not clear.
Of the big online operators that have now been affected they are Ladbrokes, Sportingbet, PokerStars, Betway and Unibet among many others.
PokerStars released a message to all players that had concerns about the latest blocking by Russia saying that their deposits were safe and can be withdrawn as normal, as well as saying that the company will continue to offer online poker to Russian players along with operating under several licenses issued to PokerStars in various jurisdictions and that they always abide by all relevant laws and regulations.
How if any way PokerStars and the other online operators will overcome the latest attempt by Russia to block their services is unclear at present and will continue to cover this story on any future developments.
March 25, 2014
NJ now open to overseas online gambling operators
New Jersey Senator and pro-online gambling proponent Ray Lesniak who introduced a bill allowing overseas online gambling operators to be based in New Jersey and offer their business internationally has had the bill approved by the Senate.
Any overseas operator once approved and licensed would have to join forces with a land based casino operator based in the state will then be allowed to offer online gambling to any country where online gambling is legal.
“This could help make New Jersey the leader in online gaming, across the country and around the world,” said Lesniak. “We could be the Silicon Valley for high-tech gaming.”
The tax for operating such a business based in New Jersey would be the same for existing operators offering online there at 15% along with any taxes payable to the country the operator supplies their products to.
New Jersey have had to lower their forecasts in tax revenues from online gambling, the initial expectation from Chris Christie the Governor of New Jersey was once as high a $1 billion annually, this has now been lowered to $34 million.
Any overseas operator once approved and licensed would have to join forces with a land based casino operator based in the state will then be allowed to offer online gambling to any country where online gambling is legal.
“This could help make New Jersey the leader in online gaming, across the country and around the world,” said Lesniak. “We could be the Silicon Valley for high-tech gaming.”
The tax for operating such a business based in New Jersey would be the same for existing operators offering online there at 15% along with any taxes payable to the country the operator supplies their products to.
New Jersey have had to lower their forecasts in tax revenues from online gambling, the initial expectation from Chris Christie the Governor of New Jersey was once as high a $1 billion annually, this has now been lowered to $34 million.
March 24, 2014
Bingo tax cut hits jackpot with punters
It had been a good afternoon for Thomas Fielding. Just after George Osborne announced he was halving bingo duty to 10%, the 71-year-old got a full house and scooped the £130 jackpot at Mecca on the Hyde Road in east Manchester.
Bingo, said Fielding, was one of the few small pleasures left in life. "Breaks the monotony," he said gloomily, saying he planned to feed his winnings back into the £1 slots in the hope of winning bigger again.
Unlike most punters at the bingo in Manchester on Wednesday, he had paid keen attention to the budget. "I taped it. I like to keep a record of what he says now so he can't deny it later." He took credit for the chancellor's move to cut the tax bingo halls have to pay on their profits. "I signed a petition. We all did," he said, gesturing to the pink and purple neon-lit hall as it filled up for the evening's session.
Fielding's signature joined 330,000 others on a petition that was delivered direct to Osborne's door last month. Currently bingo halls pay 20% tax on their profits – compared with the 15% levied on sports betting operators and casinos – an unfair anomaly blamed, along with the smoking ban of 2007, for drastic closures in bingo halls across Britain. Eight years ago there were 600; now 380 survive, according to the Bingo Association.
Bingo halls insist they will pass on the duty cut to customers, perhaps slashing entry prices or beefing up prize pots.
But Osborne's move had gone unnoticed by most of the pensioners in the Hyde Road Mecca, who – contrary to the assessment of most Westminster commentators – didn't see the budget as a boon for them. The increase in the Isa limit to £15,000 was no use, said Carol MacCarroll, 64, "if you haven't got any money to save".
Marjorie Lowe, 67, who ran a fish and chip shop in Stalybridge before retiring, said there was little point saving in a tax-free Isa at the moment – "the interest rates are pathetic".
And anyway, she said, she couldn't afford to save: "We're not on the breadline, but we are just about keeping our heads above water." The increase of the personal allowance to £10,500 made no difference either, she said, because she and her husband received less than that with their combined pensions.
Lesley Rowbottom, a 33-year-old care assistant at a local hospital, was rather more impressed. She works 30 hours a week and earns £12,000 a year, currently paying around £150-£160 a month in income tax, which would decrease drastically under the new measures. But her approval is unlikely to result in an extra vote for the Conservatives in 2015, she explained: "I see David Cameron on telly and I just think, 'what do you know about real life, with your private schooling and posh upbringing? I've worked every day since I left school. Didn't go to college, it wasn't for me. I've never had a sick day, never been out of work either. And what do I earn? How can he possibly understand?"
Robert Halfon, the Harlow campaigning MP who successfully campaigned to freeze fuel duty, was singled out by George Osborne in his budget speech. "Now fuel duty is frozen, my honourable friend for Harlow has turned his talent and energy into a vigorous campaign to cut bingo duty," the chancellor said as he announced a halving of the duty to 10%.
Halfon is regarded as something of a folk hero by Tories in the 301 group of modernising MPs, who believe that the party can only ever hope to win a majority by tackling the cost-of-living crisis rather than talking about Europe.
The former Central Office staffer has maintained a high profile since his win in Harlow in 2010 by campaigning solely on bread-and-butter issues. He is interested in international affairs and once served as president of the Conservative Friends of Israel. But his website highlights his campaigns on helping people to buy their council houses and cutting the lower rate of tax to 10p.
While Halfon would like to see himself as the ultimate pavement politician, he is also the ultimate insider with both new and old Tories. He once served as chief of staff to David Cameron's policy chief Oliver Letwin, giving Halfon an inside track to the highest levels of government.
Halfon, who turns 45 on Saturday, is also at the heart of a trio of Conservatives who are playing a key role in shaping the party and may even assume its leadership in the next political generation. Halfon attended Exeter University at the same time as Sajid Javid, 44, the treasury minister and former banker, who is the rising star of the Osborne circle as the son of a bus driver. Tim Montgomerie, 43, the founder of the ConservativeHome website who is one of the most influential Tory thinkers, is the third member of the Exeter group. Halfon and Montgomerie will be key advisers to Javid if he ever contests the Tory leadership.
Bingo, said Fielding, was one of the few small pleasures left in life. "Breaks the monotony," he said gloomily, saying he planned to feed his winnings back into the £1 slots in the hope of winning bigger again.
Unlike most punters at the bingo in Manchester on Wednesday, he had paid keen attention to the budget. "I taped it. I like to keep a record of what he says now so he can't deny it later." He took credit for the chancellor's move to cut the tax bingo halls have to pay on their profits. "I signed a petition. We all did," he said, gesturing to the pink and purple neon-lit hall as it filled up for the evening's session.
Fielding's signature joined 330,000 others on a petition that was delivered direct to Osborne's door last month. Currently bingo halls pay 20% tax on their profits – compared with the 15% levied on sports betting operators and casinos – an unfair anomaly blamed, along with the smoking ban of 2007, for drastic closures in bingo halls across Britain. Eight years ago there were 600; now 380 survive, according to the Bingo Association.
Bingo halls insist they will pass on the duty cut to customers, perhaps slashing entry prices or beefing up prize pots.
But Osborne's move had gone unnoticed by most of the pensioners in the Hyde Road Mecca, who – contrary to the assessment of most Westminster commentators – didn't see the budget as a boon for them. The increase in the Isa limit to £15,000 was no use, said Carol MacCarroll, 64, "if you haven't got any money to save".
Marjorie Lowe, 67, who ran a fish and chip shop in Stalybridge before retiring, said there was little point saving in a tax-free Isa at the moment – "the interest rates are pathetic".
And anyway, she said, she couldn't afford to save: "We're not on the breadline, but we are just about keeping our heads above water." The increase of the personal allowance to £10,500 made no difference either, she said, because she and her husband received less than that with their combined pensions.
Lesley Rowbottom, a 33-year-old care assistant at a local hospital, was rather more impressed. She works 30 hours a week and earns £12,000 a year, currently paying around £150-£160 a month in income tax, which would decrease drastically under the new measures. But her approval is unlikely to result in an extra vote for the Conservatives in 2015, she explained: "I see David Cameron on telly and I just think, 'what do you know about real life, with your private schooling and posh upbringing? I've worked every day since I left school. Didn't go to college, it wasn't for me. I've never had a sick day, never been out of work either. And what do I earn? How can he possibly understand?"
Robert Halfon, the Harlow campaigning MP who successfully campaigned to freeze fuel duty, was singled out by George Osborne in his budget speech. "Now fuel duty is frozen, my honourable friend for Harlow has turned his talent and energy into a vigorous campaign to cut bingo duty," the chancellor said as he announced a halving of the duty to 10%.
Halfon is regarded as something of a folk hero by Tories in the 301 group of modernising MPs, who believe that the party can only ever hope to win a majority by tackling the cost-of-living crisis rather than talking about Europe.
The former Central Office staffer has maintained a high profile since his win in Harlow in 2010 by campaigning solely on bread-and-butter issues. He is interested in international affairs and once served as president of the Conservative Friends of Israel. But his website highlights his campaigns on helping people to buy their council houses and cutting the lower rate of tax to 10p.
While Halfon would like to see himself as the ultimate pavement politician, he is also the ultimate insider with both new and old Tories. He once served as chief of staff to David Cameron's policy chief Oliver Letwin, giving Halfon an inside track to the highest levels of government.
Halfon, who turns 45 on Saturday, is also at the heart of a trio of Conservatives who are playing a key role in shaping the party and may even assume its leadership in the next political generation. Halfon attended Exeter University at the same time as Sajid Javid, 44, the treasury minister and former banker, who is the rising star of the Osborne circle as the son of a bus driver. Tim Montgomerie, 43, the founder of the ConservativeHome website who is one of the most influential Tory thinkers, is the third member of the Exeter group. Halfon and Montgomerie will be key advisers to Javid if he ever contests the Tory leadership.
William Hill says budget would cost us £22 million
The UK’s largest bookmaker William Hill says that the recent UK budget announced by Chancellor George Osborne would have damaged the companies profits by 40% if the new levy on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) had been introduced last year, hitting the firm with a drop in profits by £22 million.
Previously the bookmaker had said it would have impacted by £16 million but following discussion with the treasury the online and land based bookmaker increased its projections.
The new tax on FOBTs comes along at the same time as the online gambling tax increase to 15%, hitting William Hill both in their betting shops and their lucrative online operation.
Following the budget announcements William Hill shares slid 7%.
Previously the bookmaker had said it would have impacted by £16 million but following discussion with the treasury the online and land based bookmaker increased its projections.
The new tax on FOBTs comes along at the same time as the online gambling tax increase to 15%, hitting William Hill both in their betting shops and their lucrative online operation.
Following the budget announcements William Hill shares slid 7%.
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