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Gibraltar gambling industry has border concerns over Brexit

Gambling operators in Gibraltar have been preparing for the worst case scenario
Gambling operators in Gibraltar have been preparing for the worst case scenarioCredit: Oli Scarff

The Gibraltar gambling industry has been planning for Brexit on the basis of the worst case scenario but concerns remain about the border with Spain in the event of no deal.

Some of the biggest names in the sector are based in Gibraltar and employ more than 3,000 people in the territory, of whom 60 per cent are 'frontier workers', employees of any nationality who live in Spain and travel to work daily in Gibraltar. With no deal looking increasingly likely, there are fears those workers will be subject to long delays in their daily commute after October 31.

Andrew Lyman, executive director of the Gibraltar government's gambling division, said: "Plainly there is now more focus and some angst around 'no-deal' planning and what that means at an individual level. Most operators have already planned on a worst-case scenario basis.

"While the gambling industry, like many other service industries, was generally hoping for the withdrawal of Article 50 or for a managed exit, business planning has generally taken place on a worst case scenario. The industry can deal with IT structures and EU licensing issues, but the border remains a concern."

Lyman said the possibility of the border with Spain being closed was remote, pointing out it would be a breach of EU law, but that more friction at the border was "a possibility", with the prospect of passports having to be 'wet stamped'.

However, he added: "Gibraltar is not in the customs union and existing customs procedures are already in place. There has been encouraging political contact with Spain and, while things will be different and there will be teething problems, the issues are not considered to be insurmountable."

John O'Reilly, now chief executive of gambling group Rank having held high-profile roles at Ladbrokes and Coral and a board position at William Hill, agreed there were concerns for the Gibraltar industry about the border.

"For EU nationals who travel across the border to work in Gibraltar, the challenge is whether that is still going to be okay for everybody from November 1 onwards," he said.

"The assumption is that it will be and I know the Gibraltar government is doing everything it possibly can to ensure Gibraltar is unaffected after October 31 in the event of a no-deal Brexit. That is what we're hoping is the case.

"I hope logic and common sense prevails. Gibraltar is important to the economy of that area of southern Spain so it doesn't help anybody, not least the local community, if there are problems crossing the border."

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Bet365 are reducing their presence in GibraltarCredit: Mark Cranham

A number of operators have already put plans into effect to guarantee access to the EU after Brexit, with many setting up offices in Malta.

Among them are bet365, who in the last few days have said their workforce in Gibraltar would be reduced to 100 employees from around 500.

A spokesperson said: "As previously stated, it was our intention to maintain a presence in Gibraltar and, subsequent to our previous announcement, we have had constructive ongoing discussions with the government of Gibraltar.

"Following very positive discussions with the chief minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo, the minister for gambling Albert Isola, and the gambling regulator we are to maintain our dual regulatory and licensing strategy position between Gibraltar and Malta and can confirm we will be maintaining a licensing and operational presence in Gibraltar.

"This will include retaining around 100 people in our Gibraltar offices. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the government of Gibraltar and the gambling regulator."

GVC Holdings, the parent company of Coral and Ladbrokes, said in its recent interim results it would be registering part of its online business under a Maltese online gambling licence before the Brexit deadline of October 31 and had also transferred some of its servers to Dublin in June.

However, it added: "The group’s online business will still be headquartered in Gibraltar and the impact on our employees in Gibraltar is minimal."

Lyman said Gibraltar was the only jurisdiction so far with guaranteed access to the UK gambling market after Brexit.

He went on: "Our expressed view is that it would be inadvisable for operators to think they had any guarantees about being able to serve the UK from an EU27 jurisdiction."

Lyman added: "The border remains an issue, particularly for Spanish right-wing parties, but it is hoped that economic sense will prevail. The industry has deep roots in Gibraltar and is welcome here – that counts for a lot at a corporate and individual level."


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Bill BarberIndustry editor

Published on 1 September 2019inNews

Last updated 15:52, 1 September 2019

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