Mansion group to remain in Gibraltar

14/10/2008

Online gambling group Mansion has responded to rumours that they are to withdraw their operations from Gibraltar.

A company spokesperson told local publication Panorama that Mansion (Gibraltar) Limited was "proud to be operating in Gibraltar". The spokesperson went on to admit that the IT team was being downsized, but that Mansion was increasing its sales and marketing workforce.

Indonesian-owned Mansion hosts and licences several leading companies in the online gambling industry. 150 employees are based at the Gibraltar operations, but there has been speculation that the company is planning to relocate to Singapore and Israel.

Singapore has a corporate tax rate of just 18 percent, with the first S$300,000 taxed at just 9%. While Israel does have an attractive technological capability, it also has a reputation for being somewhat intolerant of the gambling industry.

Earlier this year Gibraltar-based 888.com restructured its workforce, and recent reports suggest that Party Gaming may also reduce its staff numbers.

Gibraltar's Chief Minister, Peter Caruana recently announced that the jurisdiction was aiming to reduce corporate tax rates to between 10 and 12 percent by 2010.