William Hill is preparing to challenge government plans to tax online gambling in the UK from the end of 2014.
According to a report from The Telegraph, the bookmaker has asked lawyers to prepare a case against the proposed point of consumption tax, which would impose a 15 per cent charge on bookmakers that offer online betting in the country.
Almost all the major betting firms now run their online operations outside of the UK, including Ladbrokes which moved its online business offshore to Gibraltar in 2009.
In March, Chancellor George Osborne announced that the government will move to a tax regime that ensures operators anywhere in the world pay gambling duties on gross profits generated from customers based in the UK.
Chief executive Ralph Topping reportedly said he had received “encouraging noises” from lawyers that the group would have a solid case against the point of consumption tax.
William Hill last week reported a net revenue of £198.4m in its online business for the first half of the year.
