Charlie Smith
BET365 has said it is moving operations from Gibraltar to Malta, citing Brexit as a main reason.
The €70 million move is likely to mean the relocation of 1,000 staff from the betting giant’s offices on the Rock.
The expansion in Malta, where the betting company has been present for several years, was welcomed by Prime Minister of the territory, Joseph Muscat.
Meanwhile, the Government of Gibraltar said in a statement that it was working ‘very constructively’ with Bet365.
“It is clear that the decisions announced by bet365 are directly related to Brexit and not to any matter otherwise related to Gibraltar,” the statement said.
The large-scale movement of staff from Gibraltar to Malta is expected to materialise once major headway has been made in the Brexit planning.
A statement of Bet365 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 multisite 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.”
It comes just four years after Bet365 opted to make Gibraltar its main licensing hub.
The betting company, which has about 35 million global customers, declined to provide further comment to the Olive Press.
Bosses in its offices in Gibraltar also refused to comment on the announcement.
