Online Casino Firm Channels its Business Interests
Sportingbet confirms relocation to the Channel Islands
Friday 30th March 2007
Online gaming company, Sportingbet PLC, announced this week that it will relocate the group’s business to the Channel Islands, the largest shake up in the company since its withdrawal from the US market following the introduction of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
The move is a result of ambiguity surrounding the exact operational requirements of the 2005 UK Gambling Act turning the Channel Islands, which operates outside of UK mainland law, into an attractive prospect for the company.
'With ever-limited time remaining to adopt the eventual requirements, the board has now concluded that its most prudent course of action is to transfer those activities that it anticipates may be covered by the Act, to a jurisdiction that has a more defined regulatory environment,' Sportingbet said in a statement.
The company is set to transfer all its licensable operations the UK to the Channel Islands by September 1, with the company predicting that it will be subject to a £13.5 million pound charge in the year to July 31, as a consequence of the move.
