Guidance
The Economic Crime Levy
Gambling Commission's guidance on the Economic Crime Levy and how licensed casino operators can prepare for it.
Calculating United Kingdom (UK) revenue
Licensed casino operators must take all their UK revenue into account, and not just that derived from their casino gambling activity and services, when determining into which levy band they fall.
UK revenue is defined in section 57 of the Finance Act 2022. This states that, for the purposes of determining a person’s UK revenue in a relevant accounting period, the following applies:
Finance Act 2022 - Part 3 - Section 57
For the purposes of determining a person’s UK revenue in a relevant accounting period, the following applies:
(2) In the case of a UK resident person, the person’s UK revenue is all of that person’s revenue after deducting so much of their revenue as, on a just and reasonable apportionment, is attributable to the activities of any permanent establishment of the person in a territory outside the United Kingdom.
(3) In the case of a non-UK resident person, the person’s UK revenue is so much of the person’s revenue as, on a just and reasonable apportionment, is attributable to activities of any permanent establishment of the person in the United Kingdom (subject to (4) and (5)).
(4) Paragraph (5) applies to a non-UK resident person who, by virtue of regulation 9(4) of the Money Laundering Regulations (casinos which provide facilities for remote gambling), is regarded for the purpose of those regulations as carrying on business in the United Kingdom.
(5) The person’s UK revenue also includes so much of the person’s revenue as—
- is attributable, on a just and reasonable apportionment, to activities in respect of which a charge to remote gaming duty arises (see section 155 of FA 2014), and
- is not included in the person’s UK revenue by virtue of subsection (3).
(6) References to a “permanent establishment” of a person are to be read—
- in the case of a company, in accordance with Chapter 2 of Part 24 of CTA 2010;
- in any other case, in accordance with that Chapter but as if the person were a company.
(7) References to a person’s “revenue” in a relevant accounting period are (subject to (9)) references to—
- the person’s turnover for that period, and
- any other amounts (not included within turnover) which, in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice (“GAAP”), are recognised as revenue in the person’s profit and loss account or income statement for the accounting period.
(8) Where a person does not draw up accounts for a relevant accounting period in accordance with GAAP, the reference in (7)(b) to any amounts which in accordance with GAAP are recognised as revenue in the person’s profit and loss account or income statement for the accounting period is to be read as a reference to any amounts which would be so recognised if the person had drawn up such accounts for that accounting period.
(9) The following are to be ignored in determining a person’s revenue for the purposes of this Part—
- a distribution within the meaning of CTA 2010 that—
- is received from a company that is connected with that person in accordance with sections 1122 and 1123 of CTA 2010, and
- is not made in respect of shares or other assets, profits on the sale of which would be a trading receipt of that person;
- such other descriptions of revenue as may be specified in regulations made by the Treasury (Note that no descriptions of revenue have been specified in regulations made by Treasury at this stage).
Relevant accounting period
For the purposes of the Economic Crime Levy (ECL), UK revenue is calculated for the relevant accounting period that ends in or on each financial year.
Example
An operator’s accounting period runs from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. This accounting period ends within the financial year of 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. The operator will therefore use the accounting period of 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 to calculate their UK revenue for the financial year of 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
If there are no accounting periods ending in the financial year, the relevant accounting period is taken as the accounting period that ends during the period of three months beginning with the end of the financial year. This will only affect new businesses who start during a financial year where their first accounting period ends between April and June.
Example
An operator’s first accounting period runs from 01 June 2022 to 30 May 2023. There are no accounting periods ending in the financial year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, so the relevant accounting period is taken as the accounting period which ends during the three months after the end of the financial year. The operator must use their accounting period of 01 June 2022 to 30 May 2023 to calculate their UK revenue for the financial year of 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Reduced or partial accounting periods
The amount you need to pay may be reduced if you carry out regulated activities for only part of the financial year. This reduction is calculated using a daily apportionment of the time you are supervised for Money Laundering Regulations (MLR).
If there are no accounting periods ending within the financial year, the relevant accounting period is taken as the accounting period that ends within 3 months of the end of the financial year. This will only affect new businesses who start during a financial year where their first accounting period ends between April and June.
If your accounting period is shorter than 12 months, the ECL band sizes are adjusted accordingly. This apportionment is calculated using days.
Example
If your UK revenue was £34 million for a 9-month accounting period, you would fall within the large band (£36 million × (9 ÷ 12) = £27 million large band minimum). The ECL payable must then be calculated using days, for example 270 ÷ 365 × £36,000 = £26,630.
Example
An operator was only licensed as a casino operator for 200 days of a 365-day financial year. The operator falls within the £10,000 medium entity band. The operator will pay a reduced ECL, calculated as (200 ÷ 365) × £10,000 = £5,479.
Where United Kingdom (UK) revenue does not exceed £10.2 million in the relevant accounting period
Last updated: 19 October 2023
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