A new Gibraltar Remote Gambling Licensing Regime: are you aware and are you involved ?

It stands to reason that following on from a new Gambling Act for Gibraltar (not yet enacted, work on the draft Bill continues) there will be a revised licensing regime, and new and/or revised codes of practice.

There is presently a consultation process for a revised licensing regime in Gibraltar (you can access the consultation paper from the main ‘Remote Gambling’ page of HM Government of Gibraltar’s website) - (“the consultation paper”) and the proposed revisions would impact a wider range of businesses involved in the supply chain to ‘business-to-consumer’ remote gambling Gibraltar licensees (“B2Cs”) if these provisions are enacted as presented..

It is important, therefore, for these businesses in the supply chain to B2Cs to know that they would be impacted and how it would impact them, and, equally as important, for these businesses to participate in the consultation process.

By way of example, the following businesses in the supply chain to B2Cs would be required to hold a licence in Gibraltar, be subject to regulatory requirements (yet to be determined), and pay the annual fees proposed in the consultation paper should the proposals for a revised licensing regime go ahead as stated, whereas, to date, there has not been a requirement to hold a licence:

• Platform suppliers: to date ‘business-to-business’ (“B2B”) game suppliers have been the only B2B suppliers that have required a licence in Gibraltar whilst the B2Bs supplying the platforms upon which the B2Cs run their wider B2C operations have not. Under the proposed arrangements, platform suppliers will be required to obtain a licence and pay a £50,000 annual licensing fee.

• Gibraltar companies carrying out marketing activities for B2Cs: Gibraltar has, over the years, seen companies being incorporated in Gibraltar (typically companies within the group structure of non-Gibraltar licensed B2Cs) to carry out the marketing activities for these non-Gibraltar licensed B2Cs. These companies would require a ‘Gambling Operator Support Services’ licence if the revised licensing regime is implemented as it is currently being consulted on and be subject to a £50,000 annual licensing fee, as well as regulatory requirements to have a ‘bricks-and-mortar’ presence and ‘mind & management’ in Gibraltar. To clarify: this licence would not apply to the marketing activities of Gibraltar licensed B2Cs (their B2C licence would allow them to carry out their marketing activities), and neither would it apply to general marketing companies that may carry out ad hoc gambling marketing activities.

• Provision of Betting Data suppliers: this would impact suppliers of data feeds of betting markets and related content. In the words of the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner “there continues to be a concern around the integrity of sports data and there is no agreed data standard in what is a highly competitive environment involving some very large sports data suppliers”. Betting data suppliers (including the supply of e-Sports data) will be required to obtain a licence and pay a £50,000 annual fee under the proposed arrangements.

Other suppliers to B2Cs that would require a licence under the proposals being consulted on include:

• ‘Holding entities’: Gibraltar incorporated companies that legally or beneficially owns shares in a gambling company outside Gibraltar which, if it carried on its business in Gibraltar, would need to be a licence holder here (£50,000 annual licensing fee).

• ‘Holding or managing customer funds’: When this is carried out by a person that is not the holder of a Gibraltar B2B or B2C licence, it will require a ‘Gambling Support Services Licence’ with a £50,000 annual licensing fee.

• ‘Other B2B Regulated Activities’: (see section 19(2) of the draft Bill, also available from the main ‘Remote Gambling’ page of HM Government of Gibraltar’s website) which would apply to those who supply certain services (listed below) to Gibraltar remote gambling licensees, or carry out certain functions for licensees, on an outsourced basis (also a £50,000 annual licensing fee):

  • provision of fraud prevention services;

  • risk management;

  • customer due diligence or compliance;

  • customer identification verification and/or customer relationship functions.

Relevant to all types of licences issued under the revised licensing regime is a ‘Regulated Individuals Licence’, i.e. certain individuals within a licensee will require an individual licence if they hold overall responsibility for certain functions within the licensee.

If you are/will be impacted by these proposed changes, and you want to know more, and you would like to participate in the consultation, I would strongly recommend contacting the ‘Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association’ on info@gbga.gi who are currently working with its members to deliver responses to the consultation and who have been and continue setting up calls and meetings amongst members and between members and the Gambling Commissioner.

I’d be happy to help if you would like to know anymore or seek any clarifications.