A gambling software specialist with annual sales of €77 million is relocating its headquarters to the Republic, in a move driven partly by the US ban on internet betting.
Canada-based Cryptologic plc will seek shareholder approval later this month to move its corporate head office to Dublin from its current location in Toronto. The company wants to move its headquarters to a location closer to its biggest customers, who are based in Europe.
The centre of the internet gambling industry, valued at €6 billion in 2006, shifted to Europe from the US last year after federal authorities outlawed online betting.
The ban followed several years of uncertainty about its legal status in the US. A Cryptologic spokesman said yesterday that this lack of clarity prompted the company to begin looking for European locations several years ago. "Europe is now viewed as the epicentre of the industry," he said.
The spokesman said Cryptologic chose Ireland because of the high quality of personnel and graduates, and "ready air access to European centres".
He stressed that the Republic's low corporate tax rate was not a major factor in choosing to locate in the State. He added that the company could look at other Irish locations for non-head office functions in the future.
Cryptologic chief executive Javaid Aziz and chief financial officer Stephen Taylor will be based in the Dublin office, which will initially employ 10 people.
The remaining eight staff will be hired locally, and the company said it intended to expand this number over time.
Cryptologic did not say how much it intended investing in establishing its Irish base. However, its accounts for the first three months of the year show that it has made a provision of $1.6 million (€1.2 million) to cover the costs associated with the move.
Part of this money will be spent on closing the Toronto headquarters and on redundancy payments to the staff it will be letting go as a result.
Cryptologic is listed in London, New York and Toronto. Last year it had revenues of $104 million (€77 million) and earnings of $27.2 million. Earnings in the first three months of this year were $1.9 million, according to figures released yesterday.
It develops and provides software for online casino games such as poker and blackjack, as well as a range of other products. Its clients include bookmaker chain William Hill's internet arm. It recently signed a deal with Casino Holland, the Dutch state-controlled casino operator.
