Peter Greenhill will move to the island with his wife from Beaconsfield, in Buckinghamshire, to take up the role in June.
But he was in the island to join industry experts for a tax and regulatory update.
KPMG hosted the gathering where they discussed a number of issues affecting the island’s eGaming sector that came out of the Gibraltar eGaming Summit in April.
Archie Watt, head of eGaming at KPMG said: ‘Though neither we nor the new IoM Head of eGaming knew it at the time, the lunch we hosted was Peter Greenhill’s first exposure to how we do things differently here in the island.
‘The Tax and Regulatory lunch for the gaming sector, which KPMG organised with the support of Bill Mummery of Celton Manx, grew out of the number and range of issues that were raised and debated during KPMG Gibraltar’s summit held in mid-April.
‘Both we and Bill agreed that these issues deserved a wider airing than purely with the Gibraltar operators and hence the idea of the lunch was born.’
Three main topics were discussed at each table throughout the course of the lunch:
l The UK Government’s desire to push forward with its Point of Consumption Tax (POCT) legislation (since announced in the Queen’s Speech and which was given its first reading on May 9),
l Tax transparency directives (specifically FATCA) and the forthcoming EU 4th Directive on Money Laundering, and
l European regulation and the EU Commission
Mr Watt said: ‘With 30 invitees drawn from the island’s gaming licensees there was always going to be much debate over each of these areas with some interesting views being expressed.
‘Not least was the view that POCT might give rise to opportunities for the island to attract European focussed operators.
‘Also how holding substantial values of player balances on the balance sheets of gaming companies might bring them into scope of the FATCA legislation (since the holding of these funds will create “passive” income under the regulations issued by US authorities) and how the EU regulatory landscape will continue to fracture until the Commission has a basis on which to set cross-territorial standards, possibly through the creation of a European code of practice developed in conjunction with the regulators from each country.
‘This final point of course led us to the involvement of our own regulator in the process, and thankfully for the Island, Steve Brennan is actively engaging the EU Commission offering to bring practical expertise to an otherwise very young “expert” group.
‘All present agreed that the format and content were of the highest standard and we look forward to hosting more of these events in the future.’
Peter Greenhill said: ‘I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to help to build on the major contribution that eGaming makes to the Isle of Man economy. The island has an unrivalled reputation for the quality of its gaming legislation, its technology infrastructure and its “can do” attitude and I look forward to moving to the island very shortly to take up this exciting position.’
Peter will formally take up the role in June. He was selected following a public recruitment process involving leaders from the island’s eGaming industry.
Minister for Economic Development John Shimmin MHK said: ‘eGaming is hugely important to the island’s economy, representing around 8 per cent of our national income and directly employing around 800 people. The Island is well established as a world-leading centre of excellence for eGaming and this appointment is a vital one to help maintain and grow our successes in this sector.
‘I am very pleased we have been able to attract someone of the calibre and experience of Peter Greenhill to this key role. He will lead the implementation of a new gaming strategy that has been developed in conjunction with the private sector and which indicates this sector offers significant potential for further economic growth and job creation.
‘Peter has more than 17 years of experience within the gaming industry and has developed an extensive network of industry contacts around the world. He is joining the Department at an exciting time with the new strategy ready to be rolled out and many potential new businesses enquiring about setting up on the island. This role will be key to exploiting these opportunities and enabling growth in jobs and of the island’s profile as a leading international business centre.’