ANTIGUA PACEMAKER IN BETTING LEGISLATION - WHY SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL...
Added: (Thu Jun 14 2001)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
The Caribbean: many people think of money laundering in offshore banks and
safe havens for tax evaders when it comes to the beautiful islands. Antigua
& Barbuda has chosen a different route: offshore banks and dubious
businessmen left and start-ups and dot-com entrepreneurs came venturing into
online betting. But this time not lax but strict regulation has helped to
put one of the world's smallest nations on top of the new economy.
St. John's, Antigua, 06/14/2001 - Widely reputed for its marvelous beaches,
it is the Caribbean island Antigua where gamebookers.com found its home to
go online in June 2000. Now, one year later the newcomer emerged to be one
of the world's leading online bookmakers with a weekly transaction volume of
over 20,000 bets.
Alternative places to start gamebookers could have been Australia or England
where betting is also legal - why this small sugar island with 70k
inhabitants? "Very simple: small is beautiful! Antigua as a small state
could much faster adapt the regulatory and technological framework that our
industry needs" answers Vasil Stumbov, CEO of gamebookers.com.
On May 22, 2001 the government of Antigua & Barbuda introduced further
regulations to ensure the jurisdiction promoted fair and responsible gaming
practices. The highlights:
- "Know the player": monetary transactions are monitored in accordance with
global standards on money laundering prevention.
- Rules for timely payouts to customers and arbitration methods for dispute
resolution marking new milestones in Internet Gaming.
- Control systems for secure audit trails and the suitability of each
company's owner and operator following the country's policy to issue
licenses only to internationally recognised companies with sound reputations
and a proven track record.
No other jurisdiction has such advanced regulations for Online Gaming in
terms of customer protection and money laundering prevention. gamebookers'
customers further enjoy the benefit that betting in Antigua is tax-free.
Antigua's governing bodies - recently praised by the OECD for their progress
in combating money laundering - are aware of the country's opportunity to
play a significant role in this attractive market. According to Merrill
Lynch the annual turnover in Internet Gambling is forecasted to grow from
£6.9bn turnover in 2001 to £159bn in 2010 ...what a prosperous future for
both gamebookers.com and Antigua.
About gamebookers.com
gamebookers.com represents an all-in-one-shop concept for bettors covering a
huge range of bets on every major sport event worldwide as well as on the
latest political and social issues combined with an in-depth information
offer. Betting services are provided in 18 currencies and 3 languages -
English, German and Spanish. Based and licensed in Antigua and Barbuda
(W.I.), the company enjoys a betting tax-free status. Gamebookers Ltd. is a
100% subsidiary of Sporting-Online Ltd., London. Its major shareholder is
Beisheim Holding Schweiz AG.
About Antigua & Barbuda
Antigua & Barbuda, West Indies, has a total area of 443 sq km (171 sq mi)
and about 70,000 inhabitants. St John's is the capital and principal port.
The GDP is about USD 525m with tourism as the main economic sector. Official
currency is the East Caribbean Dollar. In 1981, Antigua & Barbuda gained
independence from the United Kingdom but maintained a Westminster-style
political system: executive power is still nominally invested in a
governor-general, who represents the British crown. Actual executive power
belongs to the Prime Minister (currently L. Bird).
For journalists that would want to try our service: please contact
pr@gamebookers.com to receive instantly a test account!
For further information, please visit http://www.gamebookers.com
Press Centre: http://content.gamebookers.com/en/pressreleases.html
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