SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Ulrik Bengtsson, new Chief Digital Officer of William Hill, has confirmed that the FTSE betting group will open a new satellite office in the EU-jurisdiction of Malta.
Speaking to Maltese news sources, Bengtsson who last February was confirmed as William Hill’s new group digital leader, stated that the betting firm would open a ‘small initial organisation’.
The Malta office will be launched to support William Hill’s international operations, countering any potential Brexit impacts, as the UK plans to leave the European Union’s single market and customs union.
William Hill maintains that its Gibraltar office will continue to be its key operational hub post-Brexit.
“However, Malta provides an option for international operations should they be required after Brexit so an exploratory project team is being recruited with regulatory, legal and compliance roles” William Hill detailed in its update.
William Hill becomes the latest UK betting enterprise, to commit to expanding its operations within Malta.
Last May, leading online bookmaker bet365 confirmed that it would open a new Malta office. However, the bookmaker’s governance slammed reporting of its Malta expansion, as ‘wholly inaccurate’.
Facing the unknown impacts of Brexit, all UK licensed betting operators and service providers have moved to restructure their Gibraltar operations and licensing provisions.
Looking towards 2019, A Gibraltar Remote Gambling License may not be sufficient to fulfil UK betting operators’ European market requirements as certain EU member states could potentially deem Gibraltar regulatory provisions as ineligible once the UK officially leaves the European Union.
