Gibraltar's Regulatory Authority exposed

Due to its strategic position and the tax and legislative advantages granted by its status as an autonomous state dependent on the United Kingdom, Gibraltar has historically been a desirable location for certain business sectors such as gambling.

Since the celebration of the Gambling Act 2005, in the United Kingdom all gambling operators based in Gibraltar require a license granted by the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority (Gibraltar Regulatory Authority or GRA):

Currently Gibraltar has about thirty registered online gambling operators, whose licenses can be consulted through the public archive created by the GRA itself. Why might you be interested? Well, getting these licenses is not something simple: they imply compliance with a series of safety and quality guarantees that only the best operators pass.

What is the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority

The Gibraltar Regulatory Authority is a public entity under the autonomous Government of Gibraltar. It is therefore within the Dollarpea Union and is comparable in its functions to the DGOJ in New Zealand or the UK Gambling Commission.

Her main duty, as she herself indicates is: "To promote the interests of citizens and consumers when appropriate, promoting competition and encouraging innovation". It does so by establishing and enforcing regulatory standards in accordance with the legislation of Gibraltar and the Dollarpean Union.

How the organization works

The UK is currently one of the most interesting jurisdictions for the online gambling sector. Apart from the Gambling Commission, it has six jurisdictions with regulatory entities for remote operators, plus another 12 overseas territories such as Bermuda.

Of all of them, the commissions of Alderney, the Isle of Man and mainly Gibraltar, are the most attractive headquarters for online gambling companies. They are taxed at 1% and their operations are not subject to VAT.

In 2005 the specific regulations for online gambling (and the corresponding tax increase) caused many operators until then based in the United Kingdom to change their registered office to Gibraltar. This caused the Rock to acquire a certain bad reputation, which did not favor the reputation of the online gambling companies based there at all.

That is why the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority strives to maintain demanding standards, which guarantee operators who obtain one of its licenses as companies of the highest quality.

Advantages of playing at casinos regulated by the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority

True, regulations and licensing have an undeniable advertising purpose. But due to their rigor they also provide online gambling operators with an added trust value. And reliability is everything when you choose where to deposit your money.

Let's see what are the measures imposed by the regulation of the GRA on its operators, before granting them a license. We will focus on what concerns the rights of players, the protection of their funds, the reliability of the gaming systems of their pages and the responsibilities they assume towards players:

Player protection

Among all the measures to protect users of casinos and online bookmakers, data protection is one of the priorities of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. It carries out this mission in accordance with the Data Protection Act of 2004. This law designates her as a Data Protection Commissioner for the defense of people's rights and their privacy.

The importance of the protection of personal and financial data of players is linked to several key aspects. When granting licenses, the GRA requires online gambling operators to offer their services only to registered users, which implies the collection of personal information. Among other things, this serves to prevent money laundering, as well as for the payment of taxes, and also to control access to gambling for minors and vulnerable people.

Player protection also touches on other important areas, such as the establishment of betting limits and self-exclusion. As we will see later, also the possibility of filing a complaint against an operator with the Regulatory Authority, which acts as an impartial intermediary.

Fair play

The measures taken by the GRA to promote fair play involve several types of measures, the first of which is the imposition of a number of guidelines for advertising. For example, it requires that all advertising, of any kind, be truthful and accurate and be directed exclusively to adults who do not reside in countries where gambling is considered illegal according to applicable legislation.

In addition to monitoring compliance with regulations, the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority develops and distributes codes of good practice for the performance of the obligations of licensed operators. These act as a mandatory conduct guide to maintain the license.

The GRA has appointed a total of eleven independent companies dedicated to verifying that the operators' online gambling products and services are compatible with the Authority's regulations. These are international laboratories of recognized prestige: eCOGRA , iTech Labs , Gaming Associates , GLI, NMi Metrology & Gaming Ltd, SQS India Infosystems, SIQ Ljubjana, Trisigma BV, Enex TestLans and Quienel M. Ltd.

Its task is to test the systems for generating random combinations of all casino games: the software slot , blackjack tables , roulette ..., to certify that they actually work and comply with the requirements of the Regulatory Authority.

Protecting customer funds

Why can you be sure that a casino that operates under a license from the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority is not going to keep your money?

The GRA requires operators to control the bank accounts in which customers are received, withheld or from which they are paid, as well as the payment methods that it designates for this. It does this through the obligation to submit audited accounts annually during the period that the license is in force.

The control of the shareholders, directors and executive managers involved in the management of the operator is another measure aimed at achieving this same end. All business management must be carried out compulsorily from Gibraltar and in accordance with the legislation in force there.

Finally, all financial transactions associated with gambling activities that are executed under license, must always be in accordance with the procedures of the anti-Money Laundering Code of Practice for the Gibraltar gambling industry. This document contains all the requirements required by the laws of the Government of Gibraltar and the Dollarpea Union.

Operator responsibilities

The responsibilities required of operators with a license in Gibraltar are many. Here we collect only some of the main ones. First of all, the GRA obliges operators to have a system for handling complaints, as well as another to verify age and identity.

Upon receiving the license, they are obliged to use verified equipment and software, which comply with the strict standards of the GRA and whose RNGs have been certified by one or more of the aforementioned laboratories. In addition, they must always show the RTP of the games.

If the operator offers live games, it undertakes to ensure that the image is clear and with a good signal, so that any dealer error is clearly visible as soon as it is committed.

Bonuses must always be used in good faith. Their requirements and conditions should always be very clear, for example in cases where the use of bonuses affects the possibility of withdrawing money from the account.

The terms and conditions must be fair and reasonable, and contain a section indicating whether they can be modified with or without notice from the operator.

How to know if a casino is regulated by the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority

If you are looking for the best online casinos with all the legal guarantees, you just have to see the list that we have prepared in Estafa.Info . All of them are licensed in New Zealand, and some of them, also in Gibraltar.

The Gibraltar Regulatory Authority offers on its government website a complete list of online gambling operators to which it has granted one or more licenses. This document is public and accessible by simply entering out heré .

Each of the licensed operators is reflected with its full business name, the type of activity for which it is licensed (casino, betting, financial...) and an attached document with the license numbers, its URL, all the registered office and contact details, and the set of brands with which it works.

Normally licensed operators usually include the GRA logo on their pages, as a symbol of quality. But this is not a reliable indicator: check in the official list that they really have an active license.

When problems arise

If you are playing at an online casino licensed by the Gibraltar Gambling Regulatory Authority, and you find that you have any problems with the operator, you are in luck. The GRA allows players to file complaints against operators, acting as a mediator.

First of all, you should know that although an online casino is based in Gibraltar, and therefore has the license of the GRA, in order to offer its services in New Zealand it must have another license, that of the General Directorate of Gaming Regulation. This is the only way to be considered legal if you play from New Zealand.

Both one and another entity offer you the possibility of mediating in the resolution of complaints. If you choose to do so through the GRA you must follow the established process: an email is sent by filling out the Complaint resolution Request Form that you can download from the Government of Gibraltar page.

How to report a problem

First of all, keep in mind that complaints sent to the GRA must always be submitted in writing, never by phone. And writings outside the official form are not accepted.

As the GRA obliges its operators to have tools for complaint management, it is mandatory that you first contact customer service. Do it in writing, and resort to the GRA only if you do not get an answer or consider that it is unfair.

The Regulatory Authority has compiled the most frequent complaints with information on how to act and previously proposed resolutions.

They refer to problems such as account closure, suspension of funds, documentation requirements, unfair or abusive promotions, software failures and the connection and interpretation of terms and conditions, among others.

Use their seven-step guide with everything you need to properly file a complaint.

The History of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority

The Gibraltar Regulatory Authority dates back to its foundation in 2000. It was created from the Gibraltar Regulatory Act. Since then it has remained an independent statutory body. Among its main objectives are the promotion of the interests of users and the privacy of their data.

It also deals with the defense of their information rights and the equitable regulation of the electronic communications sectors, allowing fair competition between them.

As you can see on its page, it not only regulates online gambling. It is also engaged in communications, broadcasting and postal services, with a special focus on data protection.

Due to the large number of online gambling companies that have moved or founded in Gibraltar, the Regulatory Authority has had to regulate many aspects of online gambling on the fly, serving as an example for other entities.

As with other institutions with similar circumstances, this has led it to become a world reference, and for many its licenses are a guarantee of reliability. This is especially important in those jurisdictions that do not have their own online gambling regulatory entity.

Finding

Knowing how institutions like the GRA work and what they consist of, allows you to exercise your rights before online gambling operators. When you research the requirements to get a license, and which operators have one, you know how they work and what guarantees they offer.

Some of the casinos licensed in New Zealand are also licensed in Gibraltar because that is where their headquarters are located. It is the case of 888casino and Caxinus .

We say goodbye with the wish that this article was interesting to you. To get to know other of the most prestigious international regulatory bodies, such as the Malta Gaming Authority or the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, you just have to visit our reviews.