British online casino companies set up to enter to the US market

By leaving the UK for Gibraltar, William Hill and Ladbrokes may be angling for a way into the US market. It is a market that is the biggest in the world, and all of the big online gambling companies are going to want in when the laws eventually change.

Any company that receives the right to operate in the US in the future will almost certainly have to pay large licensing rights, and also most likely high taxes. William Hill and Ladbrokes have just trimmed their tax rate by moving to Gibraltar.

Currently, the two companies pay a 15 % tax on their Internet gambling operations. That will be cut to 1.5 % when they move offshore. The money they will save from now until the US changes their laws could be crucial to securing the US license.

Representative Barney Frank and Senator Robert Menendez have both introduced separate legislation that would legalize some form of Internet gambling. Senator Menendez' plan calls for legalization of online poker, although many believe that online poker is currently legal in the US.

Frank's bill would completely overhaul the US Internet gambling laws. His bill calls for the elimination of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and it would also lay the groundwork for a legalized and regulated online gambling industry.