BOTB beating expectations but cautious on RGD tax hike

The company characterised the six-month period ended 31 October as “encouraging” and said almost all revenues earned over the period stemmed from its online presence as just a single physical site remains, at Birmingham Airport.

The AIM traded company’s “solid” performance comes as it begins to pay increased taxes after switching from VAT to remote gaming duty (RGD), a tax on gross profit gained from online games such as poker, roulette and slots, in 2017.

This is a move that could yet harm BOTB’s prospects further, as the recent budget specified an increase in RGD from 15% to 21% from 1 October next year, a change which the company’s board will seek to control the impact of, a statement from BOTB said.

Tax levels as high as 25% had been rumoured in the week before the release of Chancellor Phillip Hammond’s budget, with the hike seen as a way of offsetting the government’s crackdown on fixed odds betting terminals.

BOTB’s shares were unchanged at 222.00p at 0955 GMT.