Mason Jones (Reporter)
THE EU has promised not to target Gibraltar’s online gaming industry.
It comes after a Belgium MEP claimed that the enclave’s operators were engaging in anti-competitive behaviour and evading taxes.
However, European Commissioner for Taxation, Algirdas Semeta, has backed the gaming companies.
He said: “EU member states can establish the tax regimes they see fit, if they comply with EU law.”
He also confirmed the commission would not investigate the economic impact of Gibraltar’s gambling operators or its impact on the European job market.
A total of 25 betting and casino style e-businesses – including Ladbrokes, Party Gaming and Victor Chandler – employ around 2,300 staff on the Rock, around 10% of its employment.
In a recent interview, Chief Minister Picardo dubbed Gibraltar, ‘The Silicon Valley of online gaming’.
Currently around 60% of all UK bets are processed in Gibraltar.
The issue has emerged as e-gaming profits are taxed where bets are processed, not where they are made, so gaming companies pay 10% corporate tax in Gibraltar, while in the UK they pay rates of 15%.
It’s also interesting to understand the legalization process of different European countries for the online gambling industry. For instance, I was visiting my sister in Denmark and couldn’t access this site I like playing at – Winnings.com. I remember that I was able to visit that site a couple of years ago, in my last visit to my sister. But now it has closed its gates to players from Denmark.
From what my sister tells me, it’s something that is happening in other countries in Europe as well.