SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
With negotiations between the UK and the European Union (EU) still ongoing, and only 24 days until the formal departure date, GVC Holdings (GVC) has released its Brexit contingency plans which will see the online gambling company alter its operational strategy.
No deal has yet been reached between the UK and the EU, and so it is difficult to say what the true impact of Brexit will be on businesses.
GVC stated as part of its full year results released today: “For legal and regulatory reasons, the Group companies providing our gambling offering to customers in the EU need to be established and licensed in an EU member state.
“Secondly, under the regulations of some EU countries, the servers hosting our online gambling platform need to be located in an EU member state.”
With this in mind, plans are to be implemented which will see its EU-focused divisions begin to operate under a Maltese Online Gambling Licence and parts of its server technology relocated to the Republic of Ireland.
The group’s European retail operations enjoyed a 16 per cent growth in Net Gaming Revenue last year, with the group enjoying growth in all territories. Given the ongoing discussions over the Brexit process and the deadline approaching this month, it is not surprising that the company has had to reorganise in order to keep the ability to service EU markets.
GVC has reported that while it will be relocating large parts of its operations to Ireland and Malta, its headquarters are to remain in Gibraltar, with no significant impact expected for the number of its Gibraltar employees.
