Alderney Revamps Licensing Framework – January 22nd, 2010

Delegates to this year’s IGE-ICEi show in London late January will get a first hand look at some reportedly useful changes made to the licensing regime operated by the States of Alderney.

This year sees the introduction Alderney’s new licensing framework, which reflects not only the changing dynamics of the online gambling industry but also the new regulatory environment unfolding in Europe and further afield.

Based on a modular system, where operators need only choose the parts they regard as best suited to their particular business model, the new scheme is more flexible and has reduced costs for many, maintaining Alderney’s reputation as the lowest cost online gambling jurisdiction in Europe.

The new Category 1 licence, which has been introduced to cater for the increasing trend for operators to outsource gambling activities, can be granted in as little as 4 to 6 weeks, significantly shortening the licence application phase.

The Category 2 licence meets the demand created by the extraordinary growth in B2B services, where Alderney’s superior technical infrastructure is an impressive base from which to provide fast reliable services across the globe.

A third major change has been the introduction of a system which can recognise and licence equipment located outside of the jurisdiction, a move which meets technical requirements such as consistency and performance in game betting products, live feeds, the rise in globally based gaming platforms and the advent of cloud computing.

“However well thought through, a significant revision of the licensing legislation fills you with some trepidation as to how it will be received,” said Alderney’s director of eCommerce Development, Robin Le Prevost.

“But I think we can say, even though it is early days, [that] the new scheme seems to have hit exactly the right note, and enquiries and applications have shown a significant increase.” “2009 continued a pattern of growth for Alderney as a jurisdiction, but was a difficult year for some – especially the new start-ups, but one can sense a new energy and we are very much looking forward to 2010.”