International gaming consultant and bookie Vincent Caldwell says the island should be looking to more eGaming business with America.
Mr Caldwell, 52, is one of the island’s first original eGaming pioneers and has recently returned to live here after a number of years in the States.
The Belfast-born entrepreneur says North America is 10 years behind the Isle of Man and Europe in eGaming.
He told Business News: ‘There are clearly serious opportunities in North America.
‘It’s a market you can’t ignore.
‘I think there can’t be the fear that North America is a place you can’t do business with. It is to be embraced in fact.
‘There are groups, small and large out there who are willing to do business both in North America and out of North America, and coming to Europe, Asia and places of the world they don’t know.
‘And so the European operators and the Isle of Man operators have a tremendous opportunity to help those people in the USA.
‘USA online betting is in the creative stage, it is in its infancy, they don’t have the experience the Isle of Man and European operators have.
‘The guys here are 10 years ahead of them. So the Americans need them.’
Mr Caldwell was one of the early pioneers of online betting, starting Betinternet.com in the Isle of Man in 1998 and took it to a stock market listing on AIM in 2000 as chairman and chief executive officer.
He told Business News he had to overcome scepticism in some quarters at the time over the viability of eGaming which has since proved to be a success story for the Isle of Man with around 800 island folk employed in the industry.
Speaking from his home in St John’s, Mr Caldwell recalled initial scepticism from the betting giants. During the late 1990s he was invited to give a speech in London on the emerging online gaming business. ‘I remember Paddy Power, Hills and Ladbrokes and everybody was in the room and they all came up to the stage at the end and they were saying that it was very nice to set up this little business (Betinternet.com) but in their opinion it would never go anywhere. They did not believe at that stage that it was going to work.’
He also recalled going before the Isle of Man’s former High Bailiff Michael Moyle to seek a licence. He said that Mr Moyle noted he had studied law and had once considered a career in law.
‘He asked me how I could consider moving from such a reputable business to the depths of depravity in gambling. I told Mr Moyle that I had been on race tracks for 10 years and I’d met far nicer people there. I was granted the licence.’
Mr Caldwell, who has dual citizenship with America, said he believes things will ‘start opening up’ in America and there is untapped potential.
‘Horse racing, there’s billions of dollars bet every month, is it not worth going after some of those dollars.’
He believes that business could be developed with different states within the USA but acknowledged there are ‘struggles going on’.
During his time in America Mr Caldwell was founder and president of an online horse racing betting business called Racing 2 Day LLC, which provided wagering services on international horseracing from over 350 racetracks around the world. In 2010 Stan James PLC purchased principal shareholding in the company.
Mr Caldwell also believes the island should be looking at working with big name operators in gambling and ask them : ‘What can we in the island do for you guys to bring them here and to be pro-active with them. There is no risk with them, they have the money and they have the respect.’
Mr Caldwell has gambling in the blood. In Belfast he and his father Charles, who ran the Royal Avenue Hotel, would visit Irish racecourses.
Today he is currently working as an international consultant with UK company Sportech plc which is a global leader in pari-mutuel and online betting.
Mr Caldwell is also joint founder and director of Graham and Caldwell Ltd. This is a partnership with Sean Graham and they have pitches at racecourses including Cheltenham and Epsom.
Mr Caldwell went to school in Belfast with TV personality Eamonn Holmes and ITV star reporter Bill Neely.
He has three daughters, Ashleigh, 26, Jenny, 23, Vicky, 21 and a son Cameron, 11.
Mr Caldwell said workmen have been doing work on his roof and asked him recently for a tip.
He suggested Ruler of the World for the Epsom Derby at a handy early price.
It went on to land the esteemed prize. ‘It resulted in some very happy builders,’ he said.