Even though it appeared that Gibraltar was down for the count, the UK government has guaranteed they will have access to gambling markets through 2020. Hopefully by then, Gibraltar and Britain will have worked out some type of new details for regulations serving as commercial guidance. Under current EU market rules, dozens of major brand gambling sites online rely more than 90 percent on the UK market.
UK Online Casino Regulator Stuck in a Bad Situation
Gibraltar is currently an EU member because of its British territory, and has significantly benefited from cross-border movements of services, goods, and even people, which also has its online gambling licensees.
The big fear for all the major players here is that post-Brexit, many of those licensees might just jump ship. Looming overhead is the fact that places like Malta already would welcome the business, and this rival jurisdiction has assured privileges will be given.
Even though 94 percent of Gibraltarians have voted to remain with the EU, there is no doubt that they are naturally anxious about what impact Brexit will ultimately have on their economy. The online gambling industry in this territory is by far its biggest employer, which currently accounts for over 25 percent of its GDP.
Unfortunately, due to the smaller size of the territory, many of the current workforce reside just across the border in Spain, so the majority of this tiny territory's ability to be competitive in the online gaming jurisdiction moving forward will have to heavily rely on the willingness of Spain to allow movement across the border.
Many Gibraltarians still consider themselves mostly British and continue to rejected Spain’s hopes of a potentially shared sovereignty which would then allow Gibraltar to simply stay in the EU.
Complicated But Unique Bilateral Relationship
Just like all the other serious issues that are currently plaguing Brexit, the immediate future still remains uncertain. On a positive note however, Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, said in an interview that he welcomed the continued efforts of the entire British government to try their best to accommodate such a tiny territory that simply was in serious danger of just becoming another afterthought in very chaotic EU negotiations.
Picardo says that he believes that extreme care has been taken by Gibraltar and the UK to make certain all the regulatory standards are going to be properly maintained between them in a manner designed to assure equivalence and customer protection on any regulatory outcomes going forward.
As the bilateral relationship continues to grow stronger today, the terms concerning the regulations being further cemented are allowing both parties to realize this commitment to enhance their market access for all Gibraltar service providers moving into UK post-Brexit.
The government in the UK has agreed a positive deal on issues concerning Gibraltar's exit from the EU, demonstrating they stand together in an unwavering commitment to the Gibraltar-UK relationship.
For now, it appears this relationship is benefiting both parties, but 2020 is looming near and tensions are getting high about what the future brings for these bordering territories.
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