A five-year e-Gaming strategy has been drawn up in the wake of how proposed changes in gambling regulation in the UK.
Onchan MHK Zac Hall asked in Tynwald what recent assessment had been made of the UK government’s plans to regulate online gambling on a point of consumption basis by December 2014.
Economic Development Minister John Shimmin said that his department is aware of the proposed changes in legislation and their potential impact for island-based licensed operators.
He said ‘constructive’ discussions had already taken place between the Gambling Supervision Commission here and the UK Gambling Commission so that the Isle of Man’s regulator can ‘fully understand the implications for the island’s regulatory regime’.
Mr Shimmin said all relevant developments were being kept under review.
And he said that as a response to the ‘changing regulatory landscape’ and its potential impact on island-based businesses, a five-year e-Gaming strategy has now been developed in conjunction with the industry,
This focuses on business diversification within the Island’s e-gaming sector, he added.
The Minister said: ‘My department is continuing to support existing e-gaming businesses, while seeking to also attract new licensable and non-licensable businesses to the sector, thus we hope bringing both balance and, crucially, diversity to the portfolio of businesses that make up the Isle of Man’s successful e-Gaming sector.
‘It should also be noted that the UK is only one of a number of markets for our e-Gaming companies and that the impact of the change in the UK may well affect some of our competitive jurisdictions to a greater degree than the Isle of Man.
‘It is recognised that the UK’s plans to regulate at the point of consumption will affect all operators with customers in the UK market, regardless of the jurisdiction from which they operate.’
