'Guernsey should put more into e-gaming'
GUERNSEY needs to up its game to support Alderney and its e-gaming industry, a local technology consultancy has warned.
Marc Laine and a team from C5 Alliance in Guernsey attended the three-day International Casino Exposition Totally Gaming conference at London's ExCeL, as part of Alderney Gambling's 'Team Alderney'.
The event, Europe's largest and most wide-ranging gambling conference, was attended by more than 25,000 people.
It showcased new developments across the gambling sector for both land-based and online casinos, and offered a number of seminars on topics such as the latest law changes.
Mr Laine, managing director of C5 in Guernsey, said the event highlighted the need for Guernsey to refocus its efforts on attracting e-gaming to the island.
'Ice is the premier event in Europe for e-gaming, the industry continues to grow globally, and it is increasingly apparent to me that Guernsey needs to remind the sector not only that it is open for business, but that as a jurisdiction it is an attractive place to do business,' he said.
'We have a world-class infrastructure and connectivity on the island, a fibre network and three major data centres to serve the market.
'With back-office support and short journey times to London we are excellently placed, and we are outside the EU and the uncertainty about the Brexit effect on tax in this industry.'
Mr Laine, who attended the event with client relationship manager Adrian Bott, said that there was a 'noticeable increase' in jurisdictions with a presence at the conference, including Jersey, and noted the role that enhanced government funding was playing in the growth of e-gaming in jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man and Malta.
He said that competitor jurisdictions like the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Malta now had e-gaming industries which were significant employers and economic contributors.
He said that Guernsey should look again at the industry's economic contribution to Alderney and Guernsey, and look to develop a new strategy to reassert its place as a well-suited location for operators licensed by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.
The future development of e-gaming is on the agenda for a meeting of the Economic Development Committee today. President Deputy Peter Ferbrache said that he had no reason to be critical of the AGCC, but it would need to be aware of increasing global competition.
It is expected that Economic Development will look at the sector later this year.
