Isle of Man Refers to “Emerging Threats” Ahead of Promotion Campaign

The Isle of Man government is attempting to reaffirm its commitment to iGaming ahead of this year’s ICE Barcelona trade show, which will mark the start of a co-ordinated program to promote the island as an iGaming jurisdiction.

The Isle of Man is renowned within the industry for being a popular iGaming hub, with 61 gambling companies being licensed by the Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC), including GG International, Evolution and EveryMatrix.

A key reason for this association is low tax rates. Companies are taxed at 1.5% of gross gaming yield (GGY) up to £20 million. The rate drops to 0.5% of GGY between £20 million and £40 million, and GGY of more than £40 million is taxed at 0.1%.

“Global environment challenges”

Digital Isle of Man, an executive agency within the island’s Department for Enterprise, is due to attend a number of events this year in attempts to attract more gambling companies to the jurisdiction. Isle of Man’s Chief Minister Alfred Cannan spoke about “global environment challenges and “emerging threats,” where he could have been referring to other iGaming hubs in Europe such as Gibraltar and Malta.

Cannan said:

“In the face of a more complex and challenging global environment in recent years, government has invested significantly in strengthening our understanding of risk and ensuring we have the right resources and frameworks in place to recognise and respond effectively to emerging threats.

“As we look ahead to ICE 2026 and other major industry events over the next 12 months, we will continue to work across industry and all agencies to ensure the Isle of Man remains a secure, stable and trusted jurisdiction for high quality and well-regulated iGaming businesses.”

GSC bill provokes debate

The GSC is currently in the process of trying to get its GSC Bill passed. This week, Members of the House of Keys (MHKs) voted not to delay the progress of the bill, which is part of the regulator’s plan to reform gambling legislation in the British crown dependency. It aims to consolidate existing laws and allow the GSC to have more oversight capabilities.

The proposed reforms would be made across a number of gambling acts, including the Gambling Act 2018, the Gambling Supervision Act 2010, and the Online Gambling Regulation Act (OGRA) 2001.

When the bill returned to the House of Keys this week, Glenfaba and Peel MHK Kate Lord-Brennan called for it to be referred to a committee to report back in April. Lord-Brennan warned about the effects of “harmful over-regulation”, and claimed the industry had not been listened to.

Treasury Minister Alex Allinson said referring the bill to a committee would “very likely kill its progress”. Allinson stressed this would leave the island in a “very difficult situation” when it comes to being assessed by MoneyVal; a monitoring body of the Council for Europe. Allinson said MoneyVal will be trying to “ensure any criminality doesn’t contaminate e-gaming and the wider financial services sector.”

Consultation process

In November, the GSC released a summary of responses to its consultation on the draft of the bill, with responses being generally favourable. The bill would give the GSC the power to inspect and investigate unlicensed B2B software suppliers who have lawfully chosen not to hold a license under the current elective framework of the OGRA 2001.

The GSC emphasised these powers would be purely investigatory and that it does not impose regulatory obligations on unlicensed entities. The GSC will investigate where it has reasonable grounds to do so.