Cassava Showcases Gibraltar Investment

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

05 September 2003

Chief Minister of Gibraltar Peter Caruana this week inaugurated the new 2,000 square meter office that will be occupied by international online gaming firm Cassava Enterprises as the company revealed its multi-million pound investment in the jurisdiction.

Cassava, which reportedly runs the world's largest online casino site, is the latest firm to be granted a licence in Gibraltar, and CEO John Anderson explained that the firm chose the Rock over other jurisdictions that offer gaming licences such as Jersey or the Isle of Man.

"Gibraltar was top of the list. It is informed as an offshore betting centre, and it is easier to get a workforce here than anywhere else," said Anderson in a Gibraltar Chronicle report.

"We originally set up our operation in Antigua in 1995, which was run by only four people," added Anderson. "It has now grown to a worldwide operation run by over 400 people, all based in Gibraltar except for our research and development team based in Tel-Aviv. We have about 200 people there, and another 200 in Gibraltar actually running the show, taking the money, taking the bets, and serving the customers."

Mr Anderson revealed that the Gibraltar government's knowledge and experience of the online gaming industry was a major factor influencing the firm's decision to invest in the jurisdiction. "Government here already knows what gaming is all about, and we don’t have to start from square one and explain it. It saves tons of time," he observed.

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