Antigua and Barbuda, one of the first jurisdictions to regulate online gaming, has a new director of offshore gaming. Cliff Williams has become the third person to hold the position in as many years and is promising to return stability and cohesiveness to the office.
According to Williams, as the "right-hand man" for the office's first director, Gyneth McAllister, he has the experience to back up those claims
 |
"We now have everything in place to go full force ahead to emerge back at the top to be and remain as the No. 1 online gaming jurisdiction in the world."
-Cliff Williams
|
|
Williams has been on the job for nearly a month, but the offshore gaming division didn't make the announcement public until last week. His appointment is the final piece to a restructuring puzzle by the government of Antigua and Barbuda with the entire Gaming Commission.
A large part of that restructuring process was centered on the government's realization that it was no longer the leading locale for online gaming companies.
Officials stepped back and analyzed their situation and decided that the best way for the region to compete in a slightly reduced position in the industry was to "straighten up" all major areas that would effect the jurisdiction and the online gaming industry as well, according to Williams.
The last couple of years Antigua has been operating under that mind set, but with Williams captaining the ship, he said, his office is in great shape to actively market, regulate and retain online gaming companies and make Antigua the top jurisdiction in the world for online gaming companies again.
"We now have everything in place to go full force ahead to emerge back at the top to be and remain as the No. 1 online gaming jurisdiction in the world," he said.
Williams pointed to recent progress made on numerous fronts in Antigua, which includes:
- Antigua is now under an entirely new government heading with the International Financial Sector Regulatory Authority (IFSRA), the authority in meeting the standards that played a major roll in getting both of Williams' predecessors--McAllister and Nelson Simon--lifted.
- There is a new gaming board of directors.
- There are new regulations with a 3 percent tax structure.
- There's been a 25 percent reduction on the license fees.
- Antigua now has both the U.S. and the U.K. advisories lifted from both countries' blacklist of money laundering jurisdictions.
- Antigua has also passed tighter money laundering prevention and anti-terrorism provisions, with an act to be passed soon.
- The office has launched a remodeled Web site at www.antiguagaming.gov.ag which represents the government authority and also the jurisdiction.
Williams is confident that, with the legislative and tax structure progress that has been made, he can help lead Antigua back to the top among jurisdictions battling for online gaming companies.
"Antigua became the first fully regulated and best regulated jurisdiction in the world with a 3 percent tax structure, which excludes chargebacks and software licensing cost," he said. "These changes started to attract more major companies to our jurisdiction in addition to some of the world biggest companies, which are already located here."