European Court of Justice to consider Gibraltar online gambling issue

The 2014 dispute between the UK government’s taxman and the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association over point-of-consumption taxation in online gambling is again the focus of media attention as the European Court of Justice considers the case starting October 4.

The issue has been referred to the ECJ by the High Court with the question “should the UK and Gibraltar be treated as a single member state when it comes to EU law on remote gambling?”

If not, then can Gibraltar be deemed to have the status of a separate territory within the European Union so that interaction between the UK and Gibraltar are treated as intra-EU trade under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union? Or is Gibraltar in effect a country or territory outside the EU?

The issue revolves around the GBGA’s continued opposition to the imposition of the point of consumption concept in UK taxation and its implementation by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and the ECJ is also being asked to rule on whether national measures on taxation can constitute a restriction on the right to the free movement of services.

The point of consumption taxation, which was implemented at the end of 2014, impacts online gambling operators based in Gibraltar who are members of the GBGA.

Related and similar