Gambling license Gibraltar

General information

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. A unique destination that offers a combination of the Mediterranean lifestyle, low taxes and access to Europe and Africa.

Gibraltar is an ideal jurisdiction to obtain an offshore gambling license. The Gibraltar regulator has created a flexible framework for online gambling operators. In addition, this jurisdiction enjoys a solid reputation among both operators and players.

Gibraltar gambling license

All gambling operations (B2B and B2C) carried out from Gibraltar require licensing under the Gambling Act 2005. Online gambling licenses are issued by the licensing authority HM Government of Gibraltar. The Gambling Commissioner appointed under the Act is responsible for the supervision of license holders.

As mentioned above, there are two categories of gambling licenses – B2C and B2B. The difference between these licenses is that companies with a B2C license directly offer gambling (including online), while a company with a B2B license can develop and support the necessary software for companies with a B2C license.

Basic requirements for obtaining a Gibraltar gambling license

The Licensing Department is a regulatory body that values ​​its reputation highly. To assure the regulator that your company is reliable, you need to provide complete and up-to-date information about your company, its financial resources and its business model. In addition, to gain the trust of the regulator, it is extremely important to demonstrate your experience in the industry and confirm that you have no criminal record. Basic requirements for obtaining a Gibraltar gambling license:

• Proven experience in the gambling industry;
• The company, office and directors must be located in the country;
• Applicants must provide evidence of a clean criminal record for the owners and all key employees of the company;
• Applicants must have a valid license in another jurisdiction or significant experience in the gambling industry;
• All mandatory fees must be paid prior to submitting your application.

Licensing Process

To obtain a Gibraltar gambling license, you must go through several stages. These include:

• Registration. You must first register your company in Gibraltar and appoint a local company representative;
• Business plan. Submit a detailed business plan that includes business goals, types of gaming products you intend to provide, payment methods, and financial projections for the next three years;
• Certification. Your gaming products and services must be certified and tested by independent third parties and comply with the Gibraltar regulatory framework.

An application fee of £10,000 must be paid.

The licensing process can take five to six months. The length of time it takes to consider an application largely depends on the quality of the application and all supporting documentation. The license is issued for a period of 5 years.

Gambling tax

Gibraltar offers attractive tax conditions. Corporate tax is set at a flat rate of 12.5%, and gambling fee – 0.15% of gross income of a B2C operator from gambling or betting (not less than 85 thousand and not more than 425 thousand pounds sterling per year). B2B operators are exempt from paying the gambling tax, and the absence of VAT creates additional benefits for operators.

License fees

The licensee must pay an annual fee for their license and this fee is charged as follows:

Advertising

The Licensee must ensure that all advertising, promotion and sponsorship of any type and through any medium (including the Internet) in relation to gambling must be truthful and accurate. It should be aimed exclusively at adult players and therefore should not be aimed at minors. Licensees are required to ensure that Internet sites used for advertising, promotion and/or gambling activities do not contain links to other sites with violent or immoral content or intended for access by minors.

Other important information

• The recommended legal form of the legal entity holding the license is a private limited liability company registered in Gibraltar. 
• For a gaming company, the recommended share capital is £10,000, but law does not establish a minimum capital amount, and a gaming company can be incorporated with a share capital of £1,000 divided into 1,000 ordinary shares of £1 each.
  

• As regards the minimum accounting/auditing requirements, financial statements must be submitted annually to the Inland Revenue, the Regulator and the Registrar of Companies, and special declarations on gambling income must be submitted quarterly to the Regulator. The form of annual reports and filing requirements depend on the size of the company and other factors.
  
• Having a bank account in Gibraltar is not a specific requirement for obtaining a gambling license directly, unlike the requirement to have a local director.
  

At the same time, when issuing a license, the regulator pays attention to the Substance (presence) of your company directly in Gibraltar.

What can increase substance for the regulator:

– Availability of a local office lease agreement;

– Having a bank account in local banks;

– Location of servers at the place where the license was issued;

After obtaining a license, you can use the services of local banks as needed. The main banks in Gibraltar are currently: Gibraltar International Bank, Trusted Novus Bank, Moneycorp, RBS/Natwest.

• The company that will hold the license must have at least 2 directors appointed. They may consist of senior employees of the company. The structure depends on various factors such as the policies and chain of command (headquarters) of the organization. The company director or local office manager is expected to be based in Gibraltar.
  
• Gibraltar Gambling Commission allows licensed operators to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment
• Casinos with a Gibraltar license can legally operate in the largest iGaming market – Europe. EU financial institutions are willing to work with licensed companies and issue loans at minimal interest rates.
  

New gambling law

Note that in 2024 a new gambling law is expected to be adopted this year. Once enacted, the legislation is expected to update the current Gambling Act, for example in terms of enforcement powers, licensing process, server locations, regulated entities, license types, license fees and other changes.

Conclusion

Gibraltar stands out on the global economic map due to its unique status as an offshore financial center.  This also applies to the offshore gaming industry, where the Gibraltar regulator has issued over a hundred online gaming licenses.

This territory not only offers a modern digital infrastructure with high-speed fiber optic connections linking it to Europe and Asia, but also guarantees complete confidentiality of financial activities and personal data.However, despite the many advantages, the disadvantages include the high cost of a gambling license in Gibraltar, the lack of universal permission for all types of gambling activities, as well as the bureaucratic procedure for obtaining a license.

However, online gaming licenses from Gibraltar are highly respected around the world.