Bet365 Relocating to Gibraltar, Betfair to Retain Its Presence There

Earlier this week Bet365 confirmed they are relocating their global operational hub, including its sportsbook team, to Gibraltar as a part of a significant corporate restructuring at the Stoke-on-Trent based firm.

This means that the firm’s entire global transactional remote gambling business in now relocated and licensed by Gibraltar and the move is designed to simplify the regulatory path for future license applications as the operator looks to add to its current licenses to include Spain, Italy, Denmark, Australia and, of course, Great Britain. The re–organization came following a review of its corporate structure with Gibraltar now acting as its new licensing hub. Stoke–on Trent offices will continue to house the same number of staff (around 2000), including the Group’s board with both John and Denise Coates remaining in the United Kingdom.

Outsourced customer services and contracted marketing services will now operate as separate teams based in Stoke, with provided support through its software and technical support by the UK base.

Bet365 looks to simplify its licensing structure, and more than one hundred roles, mostly connected with its sportsbook operations, have been transferred to the firm’s Waterport Place offices in Gibraltar.

The re–organization has not resulted in any redundancies as the new Gibraltar roles are mixture of both, relocated staff and new hires.

Bet365 also remains committed to moving into new and larger premises in Stoke–on-Trent with the firm planning to increase its headcount ahead of the 2016 move.

Betfair Committed to Gibraltar

Despite the fact that the director of gaming Matt Robinson and the director VIP Bernadette Edwards left the operator earlier this week, Betfair remains committed to retaining its presence in Gibraltar.

Waterport Place offices house a number of Betfair’s VIP staff, and Gibraltar has been home to Betfair since it decided to relocate its gaming team in 2011. Betfair absolutely rejected the suggestion that the operator will leave the peninsula. Mark Brooker, Betfair COO, has traveled to the peninsula to finalize the departures in a move which has reignited speculation the operator may be planning to withdraw or downsize its Gibraltar-based operations.

Gibraltar is a major hub for offshore gambling companies although the future of the industry remains uncertain following the introduction of the UK Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 which requires all remote operators including online poker rooms, to hold a UK gambling license if they wish to continue to serve players in the UK.

With a 15% British Point of Consumption tax coming into effect from December 1st, coupled with increased regulatory costs, operators have been forced to a review their overheads.