The following article has been posted with the permission of Iberia News.
Just a week after the Government announced at the House of Assembly that demmysportsbet.com was amongst one of the betting companies holding a license in Gibraltar the company has announced that it will be moving its online service to the UK.
In a short notice posted on the front-page of their site the company has stated that "Due to the pending changes to the Betting Duty Tax, this Internet site is to be transferred to the UK. As there will be a period of no service while new technology is installed, anyone wishing to withdraw their deposits are welcome to do so."
The announcement by the company follows the changes made in the UK by the Chancellor of the Exchequer which has already seen Ladbrokes announcing that it too will be moving it's call centre to the UK.
Demmysportsbet.com were expected to float their shares on the market, but due to the increased competition after the Chancellor's announcement and the shift towards the UK by the main betting companies Demmy is believed to have reviewed their present situation and opted to relocate their internet
service to the UK.
Since last August Demmy had agreed to provide fixed-odds for WAP Integrators, targeting the recreational and impulse gamblers market rather than the professional ones which would allow greater access into the £22 billion betting industry market.
Just over a month ago WAP Integrators produced a report saying it had agreed with Demmysportsbet that it would allow the agreement to lapse and instead the group would become its own bookmaker. WAP Integrators is reported to have formed two wholly-owned subsidiaries under the name of Sportsflutter Ltd, set up in Malta and the UK obtaining the necessary gambling licences and claiming it would have greater flexibility in the gambling products it offers its customers, both on mobile phones and the Internet.
The Demmy organisation was founded in Manchester England, in 1926, by Gus Demmy. The business is now run by Gus's son Selwyn Demmy and has over 70 years' experience of offering betting services. The company saw it's operations in Gibraltar as enabling tax free betting to its clients from a location as reliable as the UK and operating under the same law as the UK whilst being one of only seven bookmakers in Gibraltar.
The recent changes has meant a dramatic turn around which could be followed by other betting industry players as the value of the licenses and shares are affected by the changes taking place in the UK. Demmy employs between 8 - 12 people.
Source Iberianews.com