Off-shore Bookmaking
Victor Chandler is often credited as the first bookmaker to recognise the importance of online gambling, particularly online casinos and poker, as well as being the first to move his gaming business offshore with his firm BetVictor.com.
In the early 1990s, Victor began to accept football wagers from far-eastern clients and, in doing so, he recognised the potential growth in foreign markets. He opened up an office in Antigua to enable these clients to bet without the need to pay UK tax.
In the UK, punters were required to pay a 9% betting tax but, in 1996, Chandler obtained a betting licence in Gibraltar and in 1999 moved his entire business there. Over the next decade the company grew quickly and he now employs over 400 people and is the largest private employer on the Rock. Victor Chandler has offered free betting from £5, and in 2001 the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, announced that he was scrapping UK betting tax, a huge victory for punters.
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