|
Gibraltar
PartyGaming is
currently licensed under the Gibraltar Gaming Ordinance
to operate remote gambling and online casino activities
from Gibraltar. The licence has been granted for a period
of five years, expiring on 31 October 2009, and renews annually
subject to the payment of a prescribed fee (currently £2,000).
In common with online gaming licences issued in certain
other jurisdictions (such as Alderney and the Isle of Man),
the licence requires PartyGaming only to advertise and promote
gambling activities to citizens of nations in which it is
not illegal for such activities to be undertaken and only
to provide gambling activities to customers where such provision
is not illegal under applicable law.
New legislation, the Gambling Ordinance 2005, has been enacted
that updates Gibraltar's gaming legislation and provides
a modern framework for the licensing and regulation of online
gambling. It is likely that the new legislation will be
brought into effect later this year. PartyGaming's licence
will be grandfathered under the provisions of the new legislation.
The current licence includes provisions entitling the regulator
to revoke the licence on public interest grounds and to
refuse a renewal if a breach of any term or condition is
not remedied within 90 days of the licensee being notified.
No assurance can be given that the Group’s gaming licence
will not be revoked or that any new, renewed or subsequent
licences or approvals that may be required of the Group
in the future will be granted.
Under the current licence, the Group is required to relocate
its real money poker gaming servers to Gibraltar and commence
operations in their entirety from Gibraltar within six months
of the availability of sufficient telecommunications capacity
in Gibraltar to support such servers. No assurance can be
given that these telecommunication services will be available,
particularly in view of the significant bandwidth requirements
of the Group’s online poker business. Any failure to
relocate the poker servers that results in a dispute with
the Gibraltar Government as to whether such failure is due
to inadequate telecommunications services may result in
revocation or non-renewal of the Group’s licence in
Gibraltar.
If the Group’s licence were revoked or not renewed
and not replaced by the Gibraltar authorities, the Group
would have to relocate its servers and other operations
to another country, which would incur significant capital
expenditure and may have a material adverse effect on the
Group’s operations and financial position.
There can be no assurance that potential future laws and
regulations will not have a material adverse effect on PartyGaming’s
operations in Gibraltar. If the regulatory regime in Gibraltar
were to be changed adversely, the Group may have to relocate
its servers and other operations to another country, which
would incur significant capital expenditure and may have
a material adverse effect on the Group’s operations
and financial position.
Reprinted
with Permission From: ©
2006 PartyGaming. All Rights Reserved
|
