Gibraltar govt in talks with UK treasury on UK POC tax

Despite numerous media reports on the Gibraltar Government’s supposed leaning towards taking legal action against the British Government regarding the imminent application of a point-of-consumption tax, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo ruled out that prospect at a gaming industry briefing held in London earlier this week.

The Gibraltar Times reports Picardo, while addressing a top-level gathering of executives, saying Gibraltar has urged the British Government to work with it in hammering out a solution and that Gibraltar is in ongoing discussions with the UK Treasury regarding the issue.

He, however, didn’t rule out the same for the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) saying: “Of course, although the Government of Gibraltar will not be in any way involved in legal action against Her Majesty’s Government of the United Kingdom, we keep a careful eye on what it is that we are advised by those who advise the GBGA may be the legal issues that arise,” he said.

Gibraltar Minister of Finance Albert Isola, who earlier addressed the delegation of gaming executives, government officials, MP’s and lawyers, reiterated the Gibraltar Government’s underlying commitment to a high standard of regulation of the online gaming space saying:

“Gambling and remote gambling have always been contentious and politically sensitive issues.

“These are amongst the many reasons why Gibraltar has, for 20 years, taken a particularly cautious and conservative approach to who it allows to operate under our licensing regime, and why we set down such strict criteria as to how they establish and conduct those operations.

“In simple terms, no one has ever been able to get a licence in Gibraltar unless their reputation is worth as much to them as ours does to us.”