Most online companies operating in the UK are headquartered in offshore jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man, according to a new report.

Cross-party think-tank, the Social Market Foundation (SMF) is calling for incentives to encourage companies to have a bigger presence in the UK.

It says: ‘There is almost not a single British operator which is fully headquartered in the UK and even some of the best-known British gambling brands are used as trading names for entities based overseas.

‘It is true that these operators pay RGD (Remote Gaming Duty) at the point of consumption but, by locating themselves in locations such as Gibraltar, Alderney and the Isle of Man, they are able to minimise their wider tax burden while remaining in the British market to maximise revenue.’

The UK Government brought in remote gaming duty in 2014 and this is now levied at 21% on revenue.

The report also points out that ‘as many people work for the British-facing remote sector in the offshore territories of Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Alderney and Malta combined as they do for companies in Britain itself’.

The report sets out a roadmap for reforming gambling industry practices and regulation, ahead of the UK Government’s anticipated review of the 2005 Gambling Act.

The SMF says gambling operators should be assessed according to their ‘onshore footprint’, a minimum threshold for their capital, human, social, legal and digital presence in the UK.

The smaller a firm’s footprint, the higher the levels of Remote Gaming Duty and Betting Duty they should face, the SMF said.

The proposed system would reward companies that bring their operations to the UK.