888 seeks gaming licence in Malta

The company applied for a gaming licence in Malta amid concerns over Gibraltar post-Brexit.

Malta.- Gibraltar-based company 888 Holdings has applied for a gaming licence in Malta. The move comes after concerns over the impact of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union.

Last month, the government of the United Kingdom released a statement regarding Gibraltar’s financial services firms’ access to local markets until 2020. The British government has determined that it will guarantee that the Gibraltar entities will be able to work in the UK for two more years.

888 said that it is putting a backup plan in force and hoping to obtain a gaming licence in Malta. “The status of Gibraltar as a result of Brexit remains unclear. Recent indications by the EU have suggested that Spain would be granted a veto right with respect to the application to Gibraltar of transitional arrangements agreed with the UK, which increases the risk of a “hard Brexit” for Gibraltar. If 888 were to remain registered, licenced and operating in Gibraltar in these circumstances, its ability to rely on EU freedom of services/establishment principles in supplying its services within the EU will be limited; furthermore, it may become ineligible to continue to hold regulatory licenses in certain EU jurisdictions.”

Gibraltar is operating one of the strongest gaming markets at international level according to results generated during 2017 operations. As part of the United Kingdom, Gibraltar receives bets from British players. The UK government said that it will work closely with the Government of Gibraltar to design a replacement framework to endure beyond 2020 similarly based on shared high standards of regulation and enforcement of this regulation, and underpinned by modern arrangements for information-sharing, transparency and regulatory co-operation.