Ceuta has established itself as a growing hub for iGaming and technology in Spain, attracting companies with its tax incentives and business ecosystem. At last week’s SBC Summit Lisbon, Yogonet spoke with Enrique Reyes Rodríguez, Managing Director of Ceuta Tax Services, about the city’s growth, its plans to attract more technology companies and the opportunities it sees beyond online gaming.
Reyes Rodríguez also discussed the latest tax changes introduced in September, how companies have responded so far and the support Ceuta offers to businesses looking to establish a presence there, from training programmes to its wider infrastructure and quality-of-life advantages.
What are your objectives for the event, and why was it important for Ceuta to have a stand here?
Over the past seven years, the city of Ceuta has become an important technology hub. We initially focused on online gambling because, given our geographical situation and our territorial limitations, with Ceuta covering around 20 square kilometres, if we want to create a city of businesses and industry, we have to focus on technology.
We initially focused on online gambling and, although it may sound immodest for us to say it, the success has been remarkable. At a national level, we have become Spain’s leading online gaming hub.
There are still some companies we want to attract and, obviously, our role and objective is to continue bringing companies to Ceuta. In fact, two more multinational companies have already announced that they are coming. In addition, many companies listed on the London Stock Exchange have a presence in Ceuta.
Beyond attracting more companies from the gaming sector, we also hope to expand into the wider technology sector. We don’t want to limit ourselves to online gaming, but rather attract technology companies of all kinds that need space and see Ceuta as a new place with many opportunities to explore.
Given how innovative the gaming sector is, which other complementary industries are you seeing interest from?
We are also starting to attract companies working in blockchain, crypto, and different payment methods.
New technology development and artificial intelligence are also areas where we are focusing our efforts. And we hope to achieve at least a quarter of the success we have had with gaming, if not more.
Obviously, one of Ceuta’s main attractions is its tax ecosystem. How does it currently compare with other jurisdictions?
Broadly speaking, any gaming company that is licensed in Spain and operates with a .es domain pays a 20% gaming tax. If it is based in Ceuta, it pays 10%. That represents a significant difference.
Any company based in Spain, on the mainland, pays 25% corporate tax. In Ceuta, it is 10%.
As for Social Security, in Spain companies pay around 30% based on employee remuneration. In Ceuta, there is a 75% tax benefit.
Another very important point is that we do not have VAT. Our indirect tax is IPSI and, in order to attract companies, the city government has made a significant effort to reduce it as much as the law allows.
Why? Because in these cases, less is more. We were collecting, let’s say, a figure of 10 from IPSI on advertising. That amount was ultimately borne by Ceuta’s society and, I would say, even by the administration.
When we decided to reduce the tax from 10% to 0.5%, we went from collecting 10 to collecting 100. And, on top of that, the cost is not borne by citizens or companies in Ceuta.
You have to bear in mind that an advertisement run by Antena 3 Television pays 21% VAT, like any other broadcaster. If that advertisement is for Ceuta, that 21% becomes 0.5%, which is negligible.
Some of these figures were updated in September, weren’t they?
Yes. Until September, the tax benefit on corporate tax was 50%, and the government, in order to support Ceuta, increased it to 60%. For Social Security, it was 50%, and it has been increased to 75%.
It is still too early to make an assessment. But it is true that companies that had been hesitating have now stopped hesitating and are coming to Ceuta or relocating to Ceuta before the end of the year.
Beyond the tax benefits, in what other ways do you feel Ceuta helps incentivise technology companies? What can companies expect from you when they decide to establish themselves in Ceuta?
Well, apart from the tax advantages, the administration offers a series of very important additional benefits.
We have to bear in mind that when we started this online gaming initiative, young people and unemployed people in Ceuta had no idea what the sector was about. What did we do?
The city itself worked together with the industry and asked: “What profiles do you need?” We then began organising four training courses every year for the different profiles demanded by the sector, completely free of charge.
And we have to say that among the young people who take these courses, the employability rate is above 80%. And that other 20% doesn’t mean they finished the course and couldn’t find a job. It’s simply a matter of circumstances: they are taking the course, and a job opportunity comes up elsewhere.
As we approach the end of the year, what do you expect from Ceuta over the coming months? Are you preparing for any changes within the gaming industry?
The city’s plan is, in fact, to prepare a kind of package of tax improvements that will help attract more companies and provide greater legal certainty for businesses that decide to move to Ceuta.
We are planning to start working on this during October. And all of this comes on top of something you asked me about earlier that I didn’t mention: quality of life in Ceuta is very important.
We have beaches and all kinds of sporting activities. We are half an hour from Málaga International Airport, with a helicopter shuttle service, and eight minutes from Algeciras by helicopter. There are also at least 15 ferry departures every day, with boats that allow you to reach mainland Spain with your car in one hour.