Inside Asian Gaming

April 2016 inside asian gaming 41 The same goes for companies thinking about setting up a shell company in Mann. The UK is bringing in a so-called “Google tax.” More formally known as “diverted profits tax”, it aims to end multinationals’ rampant use of offshore havens for tax avoidance. A similar move is now underway in the OECD under the concept of “base erosion and profit shifting” or BEPS. Equiom will therefore advise that iGaming operators set up a “permanent establishment” in Mann. That means having enough directors there to hold board meetings and make key decisions; not just a brass plaque with few or no staff behind it. To place a simple ad, then, requires that Asian online bookmakers go through an arduous and elaborate procedure of licensing and office establishment thousands of miles away. Yet when clamoring punters across the continent see the Premier League players on TV, walking onto the field before the match with the company logo emblazoned on their chests, those same Asian iGaming operators undoubtedly feel it has all been worthwhile. operators themselves to return funds in customer accounts if they go bust. Because of Mann’s level of player protection, a lot of iGaming companies have their servers there for customers in gray markets (countries where online gaming is unregulated) as well gamblers in the UK. Mann’s very low tax rates also make it a good location for any internet company, which may have no need to be near its customers. So much of Equiom’s work will be optimizing overall corporate structure. A big part of the gaming license application will be KYC. Not to be confused with fried chicken, this stands for Know Your Customer; the requirement that an operator is verifying the identity of all of its account holders. On top of this the operator will have to satisfy the UK regulator it is not selling into black markets (countries which have outlawed online gambling like “Companies come to us with a concept about what they want to do,” says Greenhill. “We will then help them prepare the required documentation. If it’s not all legal and correct the gaming regulator will throw it out.” Singapore) and has full controls in place to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Of course the iGaming operator might be tempted to submit a dummy business plan it had no real intention of implementing. But Greenhill says this will not cut it. “You will be regularly reviewed about your activity against your business plan,” he says. “If you’re not making progress towards your targeted number of customers, you will be asked some very hard questions and may well have your license revoked.” iGaming in Depth iGaming Blue Pages