Alderney Revamps Licensing Regime

0 Comments   Email   Print

Alderney is one of the most reputed online gaming jurisdictions. Situated in the British Channel Islands, the function of online gaming regulation is carried out by the Gambling Control Commission. The Gambling Control Commission is participating in the IGE-ICEi trade expo currently underway in London. There it has unveiled its revamped licensing regime so that representatives of online gaming operators and software developers could see some of the useful changes made.

These changes to the licensing policy and procedures have been made keeping in mind the changing dynamics of the online gambling industry, the new regulatory environment unfolding in Europe and the possibility of legalization of online gambling in the United States. Instead of having one system that has to be followed in totality by all licensees, Alderney has based the new framework on a modular system. Now the licensee operators need to choose only those parts that are best suited to their particular business model. This will introduce considerable flexibility in the licensing procedure and more importantly reduce licensing costs. Alderney can maintain its reputation as the lowest cost online gambling jurisdiction in Europe.

A new Category 1 license has been introduced to cater to operators who outsource gambling activities. This is becoming a noticeable trend in the industry. This license will now be granted in 4 to 6 weeks. The significantly shortened license application phase automatically leads to lower costs. The Category 2 license is for another growing trend in the online gaming industry. This is for the B2B services. Alderney’s superior technical infrastructure enables it to cater to this sector better than other jurisdictions because it is able to provide fast reliable services across the globe. A third innovative product revealed at the London expo was a system for recognizing and licensing equipment located outside of the jurisdiction.

Alderney’s Director of eCommerce Development, Robin Le Prevost said, "However well thought through, a significant revision of the licensing legislation fills you with some trepidation as to how it will be received. But I think we can say, even though it is early days, [that] the new scheme seems to have hit exactly the right note, and enquiries and applications have shown a significant increase. 2009 continued a pattern of growth for Alderney as a jurisdiction, but was a difficult year for some - especially the new start-ups, but one can sense a new energy and we are very much looking forward to 2010."

Some of the leading licensees of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission are Blue Square Gaming, Parlay Entertainment, PKR Limited, Playtech Software, Sega Games, Virgin Games and WagerWorks.

News Item Tools

 Email     Print     Digg     Del.icio.us    StumbleUpon

Comments

 Add Comment

Add Comment

More News