Located at the southernmost tip of Europe, Gibraltar currently licenses twenty operators under the Gambling Ordinance 2005. Gibraltar began offering licenses to online gaming sites in 1998. Currently the country licenses sportsbooks, online casinos, and betting exchanges. Gibraltar primarily licenses operators with a proven track record and requires software testing as part of the process. There are no start-up licensing fees, but there is an annual fee of £2,000. The tax rate for fixed-odds and betting exchange operations is 1% of turnover with the gaming tax capped at GPB 425,000 per year. For Internet casinos, the gaming tax is at 1% of the gross product with the same maximum cap as fixed-odds betting.

Gibraltar derives from Gibel Tariq - Tariq's Mountain - which is named after Tariq Ibn Zeyad who led the eighth-century conquest of Spain by a combined force of Arabs and Berbers crossing from Africa. Gibraltar's unusual status was not acquired until almost 1000 years later, long after the Islamic invaders had been driven out by the Spanish, as a consequence of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht which brought to an end the War of the Spanish Succession and gave the territory to Britain. The British interpretation of the treaty moreover holds that the territory was ceded to them indefinitely. The presence of a foreign-owned mini-state on the Spanish mainland has been an irritant to Anglo-Spanish relations ever since.

Why choose Gibraltar?

The current Spanish position was first outlined by Felipe González, Spain's Socialist Premier during the 1980s, when he suggested joint Anglo-Spanish sovereignty. Successive Spanish Governments, including the present Zapatero administration, have since refined the proposals, allowing for possible EU or NATO involvement. The British have no major objection, in principle, to the Spanish recovering full sovereignty over the territory - provided they are guaranteed continued access to its military base facilities. The problem is that the Gibraltarians are having none of it. In response to the latest round of talks between London and Madrid which began in 2001 and explored in detail possible joint sovereignty models, the Gibraltar Government led by Peter Caruana organized a referendum in November 2002 to assess the popular mood. As expected, it returned a huge majority in favor of the status quo.

Known as the the 'Rock', Gibraltar contains 143 caves, over 48km (30 miles) of road and miles of tunnels. From rock touring, to sailing, diving, fishing and bird watching, visitors will be pleasantly surprised with the diverse range of attractions on offer in Gibraltar. Located at the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula, where Europe meets Africa, visitors are also assured of breathtaking scenery, wildlife and architecture, that captures the unique flavor of this Mediterranean city. As a VAT-free jurisdiction, Gibraltar's popularity with visitors is further enhanced by its value added shopping experience in famed Main Street.

Gibraltar - Useful links:

For further information please visit the following useful links on eGaming and working in Gibraltar:

• eGaming in Gibraltar

• Gibraltar - Wiki