NEWS FEATURE  

Isle of Man Leading the e-Gaming Revolution

Garth Kimber, the Department of Trade and Industry's head of e-Gaming development, gives an overview of the current state industry in the isle of Man.

The e-gaming sector has been in existence for eight years and has made quite an impact on the Isle of Man's economy. Despite the current economic downturn the sector has grown by 30 per cent over the last year with a 50% increase in companies now holding licences to operate in the Island. In total there are currently 16 licence holders.

The sector has also created in excess of 460 top quality jobs (as of December 2008) and is estimated to grow by another 100 during 2009. This growth is from companies new to the Island as well as organic growth in companies already based on the Isle of Man and servicing the sector. For example a number of new posts are being created in the hosting centres and corporate service providers.

Many of these roles also require similar skills to those prevalent in other sectors; 47% of current jobs in the sector are in the areas of finance or administration for example so there is a good overlap with the current skills available on-Island, enabling incoming companies to source their workforce locally.

The total spend by the industry (excluding capital spend) in the Isle of Man in 2008 was £91 million, which is estimated to increase to £118 million this year. The industry collected taxes equalling £5.1 million in 2008, rising to a forecast £6.2 million this year.

And there are other benefits from the e-Gaming boom.

To develop an industry we also need to attract the supporting specialist businesses that the licensed operators rely upon. The Island has been successful in attracting a number of interrelated companies and some big industry names such as the software providers Microgaming and Playtech plus leading data centres have been essential in building a cluster of supporting services.

This clustering effect strengthens the Isle of Man's offering and helps achieve the overall goal of developing a long term sustainable sector which is employment based, not merely a number of fee paying brass plaques.

The data centres and three telecoms operators have also raised local tech capabilities while lowering costs (e.g. for bandwidth). One of the main attractions of the Island to e-Gaming companies is the comfort offered by our resilient IT and telecoms infrastructure. The speed and reliability of connectivity offered affords gaming operators a level of comfort which is difficult to find elsewhere and is resulting in a number of large companies basing their disaster recovery services here.

The above strategy, to which the government remain committed, has led to approaches from a broader range of businesses, including payment processing companies, network gaming companies, and betting exchanges. We have successfully instigated a real change in perceptions, and the e-Gaming industry is sitting up and taking notice of the Isle of Man as working to provide an ideal climate for businesses to realise their potential.

According to Global Betting and Gaming Consultants, a leading consultancy in the gaming industry and a Manx company, the general outlook for the industry remains strong.

It estimates the global interactive gambling market to be worth US$20.3 billion in 2008 (measured by the amount the customers lost). This is estimated to rise to US$ 29.1 billion by 2012.

This highlights that there is a great deal of potential for the e-gaming sector in the Island in the future. The DTI continues to work closely with the Gambling Supervision Commission and the private sector to ensure that the Island meets the challenges of this fast-moving industry.

We believe we can continue to grow and further welcome employment opportunities.

From Isle of Man Today 21st July 2009