According to reports in the Scottish media, US online lottery operator Freelotto.com is considering relocating its business to Scotland, a move that would create up to 300 jobs.
Kevin Aronin, the man behind Freelotto, visited Scotland in October to present a cheque to the UK’s first winner US$1m of that amount and said the possibilities of developing the Freelotto business in the US was limited due to the current legal and political situation there.
Aronin believes the liberal approach favoured by the UK regarding online betting and gambling could make the UK, and Scotland in particular, the leading centre for egaming firms in the future.
He has already held informal talks with government agency Scottish Enterprise and would “even consider relocating to the UK at some time. We are limited in what we can do in the US”.
But he added there could be human resources issues in the future as there might not be enough qualified employees to build the business to the levels required.
Although Freelotto is based in the US, most of the investors behind it come from the UK (US$18m) with US$2m supplied by French bank BNP Paribas. Aronin also believes Scotland’s workforce is well-educated, and has enough technically competent people to make it attractive to a number of egaming companies.
Meanwhile law firm DLA suggested a business such as Freelotto would be permissible under new UK gaming laws. “Operators of remote gaming will be permitted to be based within the UK just as providers of remote betting services already are able to operate within the UK,” it said.
source : egr magazine
