The Future Is Grim.

Gamblers go on strike.

Last weekend French poker players again re-instated their strike in protest against a new government tax of 10% on rake.
Groups of players organise themselves to join online poker tables, and then refuse to play by sitting out each hand. They know, of course, that a 10% tax is ruinous and detrimental to any longterm overall net profit.

What has this to do with the theme of sportstrading, exactly?

Well, whilst the Obama administration seems locked-in to a policy of denying the citizens of the Land Of The Free the basic freedom to wager on betting exchanges, governments across Europe seem to be actively encouraging the online gambling phenomenon. Eurpean governments are looking at the online gambling industry and the billions of euro wagered annually as a cash cow to be milked by by the bucketfull. It is a source of revenue that cannot be ignored.

The new French tax imposition of 10% on Poker would seem to be the beginning of a stiffer tax regime across Europe. Last Week Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen strongly hinted that a betting tax will be introduced in his December budget. It would appear that this tax will be levied on a "per bet" basis and fixed at around 5%. This proposed 5% on top of the Betfair commission rate of another 5% will make for a very tough environment for the trader. It is the phrase "per bet" which raises the most alarm; a 5% tax on every Lay and Every Back in a trade. With a trader making multiple trades in a market, it doesn't take long to realise that the total tax would obliterate the profit taken on the trade.
The future is grim indeed.


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Betfair moving towards world domination?

The signing of Somerset-based trainer Paul Nicholls (the country's leading National Hunt trainer) to a deal will see the country's leading National Hunt trainer provide an exclusive column to the betting exchange's clients. This would seem to confirm weekend reports of Nicholls withdrawal as star columnist with the Racing Post newspapaer.

The latest devlopment would also seem to underpin Betfair's determination to provide increased content distribution along with it's core business of bet matching. The Nicholls agreement follows on from Betfair's acquisition of the Los Angeles based TVG network, and it's syndication of Timeform reportage and data.