Gibraltar Provides Safe Haven for Offshore Gambling

Filed in archive Gambling General on August 15, 2006

Its a country that is basically a big rock, famous for barbary apes, a quick duty-free stop for Mediterranean cruises and a blip on the atlas for most people. But Gibraltar also houses 15 offshore gambling companies - including London listed Partygaming, 888.com and 32Red.

Online and offshore gambling in Gibraltar employs 1800 people and accounts for 12% of its total workforce. Competition for staff is fierce and turnover is high as the lure of money and constant poaching runs rampant. 75% of all employees relocate from other countries and many mainstream industries are being affected - accountancy firms are finding some of their best being taken by online gambling companies.

Whilst the UK is putting in place its online gambling and trying to lure back some of those high profile companies, Gibraltar offers attractive tax haven to retain its multi-million dollar residents.

Quite simply, online gambling sites will only ever have to pay a maximum of £425,000 ($800,000) a year in tax. When you're making over £300 million in profits, thats an environment that would be difficult to give up.

The territory's offshore gambling business began in 1989.

By the 1990s, the likes of Victor Chandler and Ladbrokes began taking sports wagers over the phone or by fax, offering lower tax on winnings than the high street bookies could offer.

But it is online gaming - driven largely by casino games and especially poker - which has taken things to a new level, turning over hundreds of millions of pounds every year.

"Gibraltar is a minute speck on the globe," says Freddie Ballester of the territory's Betting and Gaming Association.

"But when it comes to internet gaming it is probably the most important jurisdiction in the world."

Article: Gibraltar proves a winning bet