Gibraltar’s new border fluidity deal with the European Union (EU) will serve as a boost for the local gambling industry, according to the territory’s minister for trade, justice and industry Nigel Feetham.
Earlier this week, the UK reached a deal with the EU that means both people and goods crossing the Gibraltar-Spain land border will no longer be subjected to checks.
With several gambling companies based in Gibraltar, and staff communting in from Spain, the agreement was heralded by Feetham as a win.
The likes of Entain, BVGroup, evoke, bet365 and LiveScore Group all have a presence in the British Overseas Territory.
The agreement marked one of the final kinks to iron out following Brexit, with negotiations having been ongoing since the UK officially left the trade bloc in 2020.
According to the Gibraltar Chronicle, two thirds of Gibraltar’s gambling industry employees are cross-border workers as a result of local labour laws.
Feetham noted the agreement between the UK and the EU has handed Gibraltar’s economy a boost, with the territory’s most recent budget boasting tax revenues that “are stronger than ever”.
The minister also claimed the accord would protect local jobs, something that would have been in jeopardy had a deal not been reached.
As per the Gibraltar Chronicle, he said: “But let me be clear: if we had not secured this agreement, all of that would have been at risk.
“The jobs, our standard of living, the investment and the confidence in our homeland – none of it could be taken for granted without the stability that this agreement provides.
“And it’s not just about today. This is about tomorrow. About the next generation. Had we failed to act in Gibraltar’s best interests now, they would not have forgiven us.”
While speaking at the KPMG Gibraltar eSummit, Feetham noted that overregulation is cornering licensed operators into a position where many struggle to compete against black market companies.
Online operators based in Gibraltar pay a combined £750m in point of consumption tax, a fact that quashes the theory that those same operators are a tax risk to the UK Exchequer, according to Feetham.
“A degree of sense needs to be applied to the debate,” the minister explained.
“The conditions need to continue to be right to encourage a shift by willing operators to the regulated market, and, of course, regulated operators can be viewed as easy targets.
“We agree with the UK position that more resources are being put into dealing with the black market.
“We know that this market is still being facilitated by some jurisdictions which issue licences but do little on anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility. This risk is real and apparent.”
Feetham also disclosed that Gibraltar’s new Gambling Bill is “nearly there” and is expected to progress to the debate stage once lawmakers return from the parliamentary summer break.
In March last year, Gibraltar’s gambling commissioner Andrew Lyman said that should a post-Brexit deal not be secured, it would present difficulties for the industry.
Earlier this week, Gibraltar was provisionally delisted from the European Commission’s (EC) list of high-risk jurisdictions for AML and counter terrorism financing (CTF).
The decision to remove Gibraltar from the list, which consists of jurisdictions that the EC has recognised as having strategic deficiencies in their AML and CFT regimes, was made with the aid of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Before the removal can be confirmed, the delisting must be ratified by the European Parliament, which has previously blocked the EC’s attempts to delist Gibraltar.
The post New EU deal protects Gibraltar’s gambling industry, says trade minister first appeared on EGR Intel.
Nigel Feetham explains that without UK and EU reaching an agreement over Gibraltar-Spain border checks, tax revenues and jobs would have been at risk
The post New EU deal protects Gibraltar’s gambling industry, says trade minister first appeared on EGR Intel.