Gibraltar

Overview

A peninsula located at the southernmost tip of Europe, Gibraltar began offering licences to online gaming sites in 1998 and now hosts more than 20 online betting and gaming firms. It has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain, and at its foot is the densely populated city area, home to almost 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.

Currently, Gibraltar licenses sportsbooks, online casinos and betting exchanges and remote gambling licences, including for telephone and internet betting, are issued by the licensing authority.

All gaming operations in Gibraltar require licensing under the Gambling Act 2005. The act grants the Gambling Commissioner, Phillip Brear, powers to ensure that licencees conduct their operations in accordance with their licences and in a such a manner to maintain the good reputation of Gibraltar.

Licences

The licensing authority will only consider licensing blue chip companies with a proven track record in gaming, licensed in a reputable jurisdiction, of good financial standing and with a realistic business plan. As stated by the licensing authority, licences are generally difficult to obtain. There are no start-up licensing fees but there is an annual fee of £2,000.

B2C utilising third-party platforms:
£2000 subject
£85000 minimum

B2B offering services to B2C operators:
£2000 subject
£85000 minimum

B2C with own platform:
£2000 subject
£85000 minimum

Advertising
Licences are issued on the basis that the advertising and promotion of gambling activities can only be directed to citizens of nations in which it is not illegal for such activities to be undertaken.

Payout
The licencee is at all times required to have adequate financing available to pay all current and reasonably estimated prospective obligations in respect of prize payouts and to ensure there is adequate working capital to finance ongoing operations.

Accounts
No bank account or credit card merchant account can be maintained by the licencee in a jurisdiction other than Gibraltar, or in a Gibraltar-licensed institution without the prior approval of the licensing authority.

Services

Gibraltar is home to some of the leading gambling operators and is the longest established host to this scale of services. As such, the government of Gibraltar and the gambling commissioner work to ensure that the standards under which its deliberately small number of high-quality licensed gambling operators provide their services, remain at the forefront of sound and effective regulatory practices, while maintaining a creative and competitive environment.

The gambling commissioner recognises that regulation should strive to achieve desirable and necessary customer protections, and wider social responsibilities, but not to a degree that commercial opportunities are inappropriately stifled.

The government and gambling commissioner are aware that the Gibraltar-based industry is keen to develop its existing supervisory arrangements into an even more visible, risk-based and effective regulatory relationship.

Tax

One per cent of turnover with the gaming tax capped at £425,000 per year and a minimum annual tax payable of £85000.

Betting exchanges are currently taxed on the same basis as fixed odds operations.

For internet casinos gaming tax is currently levied at one per cent of the gaming yield or gross profit. The maximum and minimum cap is the same as for fixed odds betting.