Antigua

[hilper]

Can anyone give an update on what's happening in Antigua regarding licensing and tax for sportsbooks and casinos?

I heard that they are not giving out any new licenses at the moment. Is this because of the - maybe - upcoming extra tax? When will they start issuing licenses again, does anyone know? Will the old licenses benefit from "old rules" = no extra tax? Is it possible to buy companys with existing, not activated, licenses?

Sorry, lot of questions - but then I know that you guys hanging around here are always very well informed. Probably information is also more accurate then what you would get from a lawyer after spending 5k or so....

Thanx for a good site - i read everything and will try to post a little more often. I am rather well informed whats going on within the gambling-business here in Europe.

hilper

[MarkDel]

Jeff, do you know if it's true that Antigua is not issuing any new licenses? If so, what seems to be the dispute over tax issues? Would any changes apply to existing sports books or only the new ones? I would really hate to see any action cause people to leave that island. With all due respect to Costa Rica, the books in Antigua (WWTS, SOS, Premiere, Carib, etc..) are an absolutely joy to deal with personally. It would be a shame if they were to leave Antigua for any reason. While I'm sure they would be just as terrific on another island in terms of customer service at the top of the organizations, I am fearful of what would happen at the lower levels. The books on other islands have less capable and less accomadating foreign clerks, and the quality of phone service (sound quality, clarity, etc...) is vastly inferior compared to that when I call Antigua. Thanks in advance for your response.

[mls]

Folks we might not be focusing on the bigger problem ...

As I understand it the proposed legislation would preclude any licensed book from taking bets from a country where gambling on the internet is illegal (which will include Americans once the Kyle Bill).

Tax issues aside, any book which caters to Americans (most in Antigua) will be forced to relocate to Costa Rica or (better) Curacao.

[Don Best]

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[MarkDel]

MLS, are you saying that Antigua is considering changing their entire policy in that direction??? If that's true, I hadn't heard that at all. That's a very, very radical departure from the position taken by Gynneth McAlister in recent months. Where did you come by this information? Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer this question.

[mls]

Below is the quote from a Sting article dated march 31st:

"Furthermore, the Sports Book/Casino would have to ensure that the person registering to gamble on the site is legally permitted to participate in Internet Gaming in their jurisdiction."

[AussieVamp2]

hilper,

Would be interesting to hear your take on betting in the various countries in Europe.

[thedevil]

Markdel!

The phones are no different between Antigua, Costa Rica or Curacao. The clarity differs between those books that use direct lines and those that use satelite transmission. With direct being more expensive & clearer. Smaller books and books on islands where dishes are illegal use direct.

Curacao has about 85% rate of people who speak English. 50% or so flueint. Very low illitericy rate also. Most people on the island speak at least 4 languages, English, Dutch, Spanish and a local language called Papiemento.

Those forced to move from Antigua would suffer absoluetly no loss of service on either Curacao or Costa Rica.

THE DEVIL

[hilper]

AV2

If you want to we can share some thoughts regarding the Euro-books.

I am at:

per.hildebrand@swipnet.se

[AussieVamp2]

cp

[Jeff]

From RGT a few days ago....


By Fred Faust, RGTonline.com

Operators of online casinos and sports books in Antigua will meet April 7
"to discuss the black boxes,'' as one operator put it.

That's a reference to the audit servers, the computers that regulators plan
to place at each licensee's office to automatically monitor what's going on.
The black boxes are also a symbol of other drastic revisions that are being
planned.

Antigua has more licensed online wagering sites, 159, than any other
country. While Caribbean governments are known for lax regulation and low
taxation, Antigua is planning major changes.

"I want to set international standards," Gyneth McAllister, Antigua's
director of offshore gaming, told RGTonline.com in a recent interview. She
hopes to implement a system that would be the envy of regulators in
countries -- like Australia and the U.S. - that have reputations for
rigorous regulation of the gaming industry.

To that end, her government has hired Technical Systems Testing, an
Australian company whose engineers test equipment in both bricks-and-mortar
and cyber casinos. For the last two weeks, TST has been circulating in
Antigua a draft of "Internet Gaming Technical Standards & Guidelines."

Many of the island's online casino operators are upset about the proposals.
At a meeting March 23, some of them walked out when TST executives began to
explain the monitoring system.

When the operators get together April 7, they will discuss a response to the
TST draft. "Everybody's annoyed," one operator, who requested anonymity,
told RGTonline.com:

"If they adhere to all these points in the draft, we would have to rewrite
our entire software. There are so many points they want to address. With all
the software, it's a nightmare. It's not as easy as they think."

In an introduction, the draft states that the new standards seek to "ensure
that gaming utilising the Internet occurs in a manner that is fair, secure
and auditable." In addition to the auditing requirements, the draft contains
pages of detailed requirements that are not now in force in Antigua.

Casinos and sports books would be required to get proof of a player's
identity, age and place of residence. In a move that should please some U.S.
authorities, the draft says: "The Operator should ensure that the person
registering (to gamble on the site) is legally permitted to participate in
Internet Gaming in their jurisdiction."

Player passwords would have to be changed every 28 days. The sites would
require "an easy and obvious mechanism to enable the player to notify the
jurisdiction authority of complaints."

Borrowing a feature from regulators in Australia, the draft says that
players must be able to set their own maximum bet levels if they so choose,
a maximum bet per game and/or a maximum bet per time period.

In an effort to combat money laundering, one of the 15 "reportable events"
that operators would have to record is "large financial transactions." John
Cargnello, chief executive of TST, said "large" would be defined as at least
$25,000 over a seven-day period.

Some sections in the draft deal with technical issues, such as firewalls and
encryption. Others stipulate what information must be shown to the player,
either on the game page or through a hot link.

One piece of information could be especially valuable to consumers: the
percentage return to player. That information is closely guarded in nearly
all casinos. Who knows what would happen if land-based casinos had to
disclose the return on, for example, popular slot machines like Wheel of
Fortune or Monopoly.

McAllister expects Antigua's Parliament to approve the new standards soon.
Once that happens, she said, they would be implemented in phases over about
six months.

Any new applicants must have software that's compatible with the draft
standards, she said. And Antigua will no longer accept applications "unless
you're a recognized international firm. We don't want any novices here."

In addition, she is planning a new tax structure. Currently, online casinos
pay a flat fee of $100,000 a year. Sports books pay $75,0000 a year.

Under the new scheme, which McAllister expects Parliament to pass by June,
both casinos and sports books would pay $50,000 a year for an offshore
gaming license, plus 2 percent of their adjusted gross.

Before the gross is calculated, operators would be allowed to deduct their
fees for software royalties, credit card fees and chargebacks.

In a meeting last week, McAllister said, some operators complained about the
2 percent tax.

"They said they'd go to Costa Rica," she said. "But it's only a matter of
time before other jurisdictions start taxing."

One operator told RGTonline.com that the new tax structure will definitely
cost the operators more.

"You bring your equipment here,'' the operator said, "and you're guaranteed
that the license terms will not be changed. Now there's all this crap."

[Jeff]

In a nutshell...........

The licensing situation has been put on hold
until the issue of the black box has been resolved with the sportsbooks and
casinos. The sportsbooks and casinos are now organizing the 'Antigua
Offshore Gaming Association' and have informed the Government that they are
fighting this together as well as the question of taxation, alternative
means to protect the player and prevent against money laundering.