Brexit fears lead to bet365 moving bulk of operation in Gibraltar to Malta

Online gambling operator bet365 have announced plans to move the majority of their operations in Gibraltar to Malta to help mitigate the impact of Brexit.

The Stoke-based company's large-scale movement of staff to Malta, a jurisdiction where they have held a licence since 2015, is expected to take place after the company have completed their staff consultation.

The bet365 statement said: "As part of our strategic and contingency plans to ensure EU market access and to maintain and enhance operational efficiencies, we have been building our presence in Malta and operating a dual regulatory and licensing strategy between Gibraltar and Malta for a number of years.

"However, from an operational and technical perspective and given our operating model, it has become increasingly challenging to efficiently run such multi-site operations and this has necessarily resulted in us conducting a review of our operations.

"We also continue to operate in a highly uncertain environment, driven primarily by the continuing Brexit landscape. Therefore, to assist with business planning and in order to maintain operational effectiveness, we intend to enhance our Maltese operational hub and relocate certain functionality there."

Responding to the announcement, the Gibraltar government said it was working "very constructively" with bet365.

"It is clear the decisions announced by bet365 are directly related to Brexit and not to any matter otherwise related to Gibraltar," it said in a statement.

"The government will continue to work with bet365 through its period of staff consultation and rationalisation in order to seek to ensure that the footprint of bet365 in Gibraltar remains substantial."

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