Mansion group to stay in Gibraltar

The Gibraltar publication "Panorama" followed up on rumours this week that the online gambling group Mansion was about to pull out of the Mediterranean enclave, which hosts and licences many leading industry companies.

Unsettling rumours had been circulating that Indonesian-owned Mansion, which employs almost 150 people in the British territory, was planning to shut down its Gibraltar operations in favour of a move to Singapore and, of all places, Israel.

Consideration of the former state, which has a personal tax rate of only 8 percent, was perhaps understandable, but Israel has traditionally taken a tough anti-online gambling line when it comes to operators, although it boasts impressive technological capability.

The rumours reignited fears of further Gibraltar job losses following retrenchments at 888.com earlier this year and more recent news that Party Gaming may be making staff cuts . Unidentified sources told Panorama that some staff had already been prepared for a move with a view to relocation over the next few months.

Approached for comment, a Mansion spokesperson assured Panorama reporters that Mansion (Gibraltar) Limited was "proud to be operating in Gibraltar" and was staying put, although the IT team was being reduced. However, the company was recruiting more sales and marketing staff, she revealed.

Panorama reports that Mansion's Gibraltar personnel roster includes 18 Gibraltarians, 104 British, 4 Spanish and 23 persons of other nationalities.

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