Betfair Expanding, Not Relocating

There has been some concern within the UK jobs market recently that Betfair, the giant UK-based betting exchange was planning to up sticks and relocate, specifically to tax friendly territories such as Gibraltar and Dublin. So it was to general relief that they announced recently that they were expanding to these two areas but retaining their current 1200-strong UK work force.

Betfair currently has three offices in Hammersmith, Halifax and Stevenage and a spokesman made the point that corporation tax and all other relevant taxes would continue to be paid. This is a salient point in relation to recent financial news regarding the big UK banks which have paid very little domestic tax on their revenues.

Adelson Puts a Price on Euro-Vegas

Sheldon Adelson, CEO of Las Vegas Sands has tentatively put a price on the proposed Spanish development. As we reported before he is keen on either Madrid or Barcelona and has seemingly arrived at a budget of $21 billion, which would make it Spain’s largest private investment.

Does the money come with conditions? Absolutely, and Adelson has already crticized Spain’s “rigid” labour laws. He has also suggested that the process might be made easier if a new government was in place, which almost sounds like king-making. It’s unlikely Adelson will find much favour in Spain if he tries to meddle in internal politics.

Las Vegas Sands Heading for Florida?

In related Sheldon Adelson news, it appears that Las Vegas Sands has been working behind the scenes in Florida to persuade legislators to enact a bill that will enable the building of casino resorts in the Southern state. Florida currently has eight casinos on indian tribal land but Las Vegas Sands is hoping business needs will override moral objections for new resorts. Sands has also recently expresses an interest in Japan as the next destination.



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