Gibraltar Government Searching for a New Gambling Commissioner

The government of Gibraltar is advertising for the position of a new Gambling Commissioner and Executive Director, indicating the departure of current Gambling Commissioner Andrew Lyman.

The successful candidate will be employed for a minimum fixed term of two years, with an option to renew. Candidates are required to have a minimum of five years’ experience in a senior executive, regulatory or strategic role within the gambling or remote gaming sector, while also possessing a strong understanding of operational, regulatory, and commercial dynamics.

Experience is also required in the fields of gaming taxation and fiscal policy, with the government searching for someone with a recognised tax qualification, which will enable the commissioner to understand the implications of domestic and international tax developments on Gibraltar’s framework.

The government wishes to see demonstrable experience of engaging with HM Treasury, UK government departments, regulators or parliamentary stakeholders, particularly in relation to gambling taxation. Applications will be open until 12pm CET on Tuesday, 14 July, with interviews expected to take place throughout September.

What happens to Andrew Lyman?

The advertising of the position hints Lyman is set to vacate the position he has held since February 2020. At the time of writing, there had been no announcement on Lyman’s position from the government of Gibraltar or from Lyman himself. Betting.co.uk has reached out to the government of Gibraltar for comment.

Lyman has an extensive background in the legal field within gambling. He has been working for the government of Gibraltar since January 2018, when he initially joined as Executive Director for the Ministry of Digital and Financial Services, before moving into the Gambling Commissioner role two years later.

Prior to this, Lyman worked for operator William Hill for eight years, where his roles included Head of Public Affairs and Director of Group Regulatory Affairs. This followed a stint as Acting Chief Executive of the Association of British Bookmakers from 2008 to 2009, and Lyman was also Director of Monitoring and Enforcement for British regulator the Gambling Commission from 2006 to 2008.

Tax comments

Last November, Lyman spoke out against the idea of a large increase in remote gaming duty (RGD) in the UK, paid on online casino bets. However, later that month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced RGD would go up from 21% of gross gaming yield (GGY) to 40%, with the new rate being implemented from the start of April this year. In addition, general betting duty, paid on online sports bets, will rise from 15% of GGY to 25% in April 2027.

Lyman posted on his LinkedIn prior to the announcement:

“My view is that there is little room in the betting duty rate (15% is just about optimal), but there may be a little ‘juice’ in the RGD rate (but no more that 4-5 percentage points).

“Above that, the pips will be beyond squeaking and there will be genuine pain. Pain will mean not just reduced growth, but as cogent examples demonstrate, tax yield would reduce in the medium term (perhaps in the shorter term).”

Taxation is a key focus for Gibraltar, with B2C licensees paying gaming tax at 0.15% of gross revenue. Gibraltar’s gambling division currently licenses 56 companies.

However, being licensed in Gibraltar does not lead to the same kind of tax exemptions for UK operators as it once did, as since 2014, UK operators have been taxed at the point of consumption.