The Chief Minister advocated for Gibraltar’s “gold standard” gaming industry at a meeting at HM Treasury with Exchequer Secretary.

The Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP thanked the Hon Dan Tomlinson MP for meeting him less than a day after the UK Chancellor announced the United Kingdom will increase the duty on remote gaming from 21 to 40 percent, and for meeting with Gibraltar’s Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, the Hon Nigel Feetham KC MP, in the build-up to Wednesday’s UK Budget.

The Chief Minister said Gibraltar has done more than has been asked of it on transparency and on regulation. He explained that, despite the Budget measure also affecting other jurisdictions, the impact could be felt disproportionately by the Gibraltar Government, in loss of PAYE, social insurance and corporate tax revenue.

The Ministers noted that some campaigners, including former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, had been calling for an even greater tax increase, that the share prices for the larger gaming companies bounced back after an initial dip, and that gaming publications immediately started talking about possible job losses.

The Chief Minister said: “I’m glad I was in London for the Joint Ministerial Council with Nigel Feetham and was able to see Exchequer Secretary, Dan Tomlinson. I shared with him the concerns of HM Government of Gibraltar in respect of the increased tax on online gaming companies. We discussed the concerns of the Gaming industry, including the fear that the measure will push many people in the UK to the unregulated online gaming sector. We agreed to continue speaking to HM Treasury and, if necessary, I hope to be able to convince His Majesty’s Government in the UK of the need to improve the measure, as announced. I want to also acknowledge the excellent work done by Nigel Feetham in the run up to the Budget announcement and which has undoubtedly been one of the factors that has resulted in a lower rate of tax/duty being imposed than some campaigners were seeking, which was in the region of 50%!”