Game on at Kensington

ALDERNEY'S online gambling industry is booming. And a Guernsey company is reaping the rewards.

The Kensington Corporation, which advises Internet firms on gaming licences, is growing rapidly.

And a United States government crackdown on the industry could work to its advantage as American companies look to set up abroad.

'While the changes in US legislation are significant, they had been well trumpeted in advance and most of our clients are outwardly focussed and seek revenues from the rest of the world,' said managing director Norson Harris.

'Significantly, a number of enquiries received recently are from US companies looking for a European base.'

Kensington has appointed Chrissie McCulloch, formerly of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, to join its Alderney-based team.

The island is a highly regulated jurisdiction. Her role is to guide companies through the application process. Even if a licence is granted, the business cannot immediately run a gaming site.

'The ongoing process includes approval of software and internal systems by the commission before the licensee may launch an online site,' said Mrs McCulloch.

'This can be very complex, in particular the preparation of the internal control system manual, and we can assist with this time-consuming detail by introducing appropriate third parties.

'We take it from inception to delivery, from the pre-application stage right through to full management.'

Kensington has advised 24 of the 29 successful applicants to date and acts for 21 of the current 25 'live' gaming licences.

Clients include Tribeca Tables, which provides sophisticated poker platforms used by over 200 online gaming casinos.

Other big names are WagerWorks and Paddy Power.

'We are delighted to have become lead provider of administration services to the Alderney gaming sector,' said Mr Harris, who advised on the draft gaming law.

'It is a very specialised area involving a close network of advisors. There's continuing growth in the market and the Alderney commission will continue to deploy stringent regulation over these businesses.'