PoC tax forces William Hill to drop Lincoln sponsorship

maker William Hill has revealed it is terminating its sponsorship of the Lincoln Handicap race after reviewing its marketing ventures following the introduction of the point-of-consumption (PoC) tax in the UK.

The PoC regime requires operators offering or promoting remote gambling services to UK customers to acquire a UK licence and pay tax at a rate of 15%, regardless of where they are based.

The UK government has estimated that the Treasury will earn £300m as a result of the tax, with a majority of that figure coming out of bookmakers’ profits.

William Hill has sponsored the Lincoln since 2006, which was its second partnership with the race after an initial spell as a sponsor in the 1990s.

The operator’s spokeswoman Kate Miller confirmed that the ending of the partnership is being brought about as a result of the new tax regime.

Miller said: “We have dropped our sponsorship of the Lincoln. We had to review a number of our marketing investments on the back of the point-of-consumption tax.

"We reviewed all our sponsorships and the Lincoln was let go as a result of that review.”

Miller went on to say that William Hill would not be ending sponsorships with any other established horse racing events