Isle of Man Gambling License

Advantages of the Isle of Man Gambling License

One of the first noticeable advantages for holding the Isle of Man license to gamble is a business infrastructure. This government considers gambling businesses beneficial and, therefore, has taken measures to ensure that they are provided with modern telecommunication infrastructure and high-tech data centers able to make use of digital currencies and other blockchain-based products, and benefit from other relevant support. This company operates in a quality infrastructure that has contributed to the ease of managing the company.

The Isle of Man Enterprise Support Schemes include micro-business grants, loans, equity investments, and funding for business improvement. You could also be eligible for financial support in relocating your business to the Isle of Man. The business climate in the Isle of Man has made it easy for gambling businesses to integrate, with advisory support being availed in matters related to software development, marketing, investment, and other business areas.

The Isle of Man is flexible with regards to regions of operation since there are no blacklisted countries where the gaming or gambling operator would not be prohibited from offering products and services. Without any blacklist in place, all license holders are expected to assume responsibility for selecting countries where gambling is permitted legally under certain regulations.

You should also note that the Isle of Man offers a Disaster Recovery Program in case there is a political or economic disaster in the region where gambling operations are based. The purpose of such a program is to assist affected businesses to smoothly re-domicile their operations to the Isle of Man without suspending or terminating their respective economic activities. The operators can operate under their home legislation for as long as 90 days, after which they are obliged to apply for the Isle of Man license on general principles.

The Isle of Man is one of the most competitive countries in Europe and, indeed, the whole world in terms of taxation. Its Corporate Tax rate goes up as high as 0% on most types of income. Dividends, royalties, and interest that are distributed and paid to non-Manx residents have 0% charged for Withholding Tax. The Gaming Tax ranges from 0.1% to 1.5% on Gross Gaming Yield. The Isle of Man has over 30 Double Taxation Agreements enabling international business to optimize their taxes by avoiding being taxed twice in two different countries.

Apart from this, the Isle of Man has minimum financial accounting requirements. In the case of a Private Limited Company-Ltd, no financial statements are required to be prepared unless any member or director of the company requires such preparation under the Companies Act 2006 or any other applicable law. Private companies do not have a requirement to audit their financial statements and their accounting books can be maintained anywhere in the world.

Advantages

Isle of Man Regulations on Gambling

The law of the Isle of Man differentiates, for online activities, between gambling and gaming. The first one is identified as any activity that creates online games by using telecommunication means, whereas the second refers to controlled machines, usually available within casinos and offering the possibility of prizes to its players.

The GSC is the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission in charge of gambling regulations, which involve licensing and prevention against money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. It focuses on ensuring that crime is kept out of the gambling industry, young and vulnerable persons are protected, services provided by license holders are fair, and players receive their true winnings.

It is a very responsive jurisdiction to the ever-evolving gaming industry. When the Online Gambling Regulation Act 2001 was issued, the GSC was one of the first institutions online to begin regulating it. This jurisdiction’s aim is to protect players by providing support for online casino operators in keeping gambling safe. Under the OGRA, all forms of online gambling and gaming can be licensable, except for spread betting, pursuant to the Online Gambling (Prescribed Descriptions) Regulations 2007 as spread betting is regulated by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority.

Gaming in general, including betting, bookmaking, and lotteries, is regulated under the Gaming, Betting, and Lotteries Act 1988 and the Gaming Betting And Lotteries (Amendment) Act 2001, which define the term “gaming,” among other regulative aspects, as playing a game of chance for winnings in money or money’s worth, whether or not any person playing the game is at risk of losing any money or money’s worth. You will also get regulations concerning gaming promotions, protection of minors, and all other limits and privileges applicable within these Acts.

It is also important to note that most licensees of gambling businesses are increasingly coming under the ambit of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing legislation. GSC makes sure the industry of gambling in the Isle of Man corresponds to AML/CFT standards. It also contributes to the national projects on estimating the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing via gambling activity and provides its contribution to assessing the performance of the Isle of Man against the Financial Action Task Force standards. Key Legislation: Gambling Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act 2018. AML/CFT programs include, but are not limited to: implementation of customer due diligence and know your customer programs, monitoring, and reporting suspicious transactions.

Depending on the type of business activities the following legislation might also be relevant to consider:

• The National Lottery Act 1999
• Casino Act 1986
• Pool Betting Isle of Man Act 1961
• Pool Betting (Isle of Man) Act 1970
• Gambling Supervision Act 2010

GAMBLING LICENSE IN ISLE OF MAN

Types of the Isle of Man Gambling Licenses

In the case of the Isle of Man, a gambling license would revolve around the business model and objectives of an applicant, and it allows all digital assets to be used, including cryptocurrencies. All the following business models are licensed: poker, casinos, sportsbooks, esports betting, fantasy sports, lotteries, and mobile games. See below for some information on the online gambling licenses available; these currently total in number.

There are two types of licenses issued by the GSC, out of which the following listed features are of a Full License: It covers the gaming activity of the company of the main Licensee and its subsidiaries. It entitles the license holders to carry out B2C activities, including the registration of players, their data storage, operating proprietary technologies.

• White-label solutions, gaming platform, content access and network access, and other business-to-business solutions, provided by Full License holders to any other gambling operator, where the latter may or may not be required by the GSC to also meet such requirements,
• A Full License holder can collaborate with an unlimited number of other operators seeking to be granted a Sub-License from the GSC
• Full License holders provide them games and software but aren’t liable for the administrative and legal activities of sub-licensees
• The cost per partnership is 5,000 GBP
• This license cannot work ‘upward’ to cover the gambling activities of a parent or a holding company or ‘sideways’ to cover the operations of sister companies
• Annual license fee – 35,000 GBP

Another license type issued by the GSC is the Sub-License, which has the following peculiarities:

• Target group: It is designed primarily for an operator without any prior business experience in the gambling industry who intends to carry on a B2C activity. A sub-License would be a go-to option for companies with a database of potential players but no gambling products and services of their own.
• A Sub-License holder becomes affiliated with a Full License holder through the execution of an agreement whereby:
  • The recorded players of a Sub-License holder gain access to the software or games belonging to the Full License holder
  • A Sub-License does not preclude its holder from making an application for a Full License at any given moment in time
• Annual license fee – 5,000 GBP

Another license that the GSC issues is called a Network Services License. Specifications of this license are hereby stated as follows:

• Licensees are allowed to take in customers who are registered with other jurisdiction-licensed casinos without needing to start a process for re-registration of such customers.
• Such a procedure allows for the comfortable transfer of customer data from the source server to a server located in the Isle of Man without necessarily going through such AML checks as KYC, because it is expected that they are already compliant.
• Otherwise, they enjoy all rights and assume all responsibilities of Full License holders to provide services that are fair, safe, and free from any crime.
• There are no fees for the connection of new partner gambling operators to the network.
• One of the major features of the Network Services License is that the licensees can enter new markets by accepting customer databases from other jurisdictions.
• Annual license fee – 50,000 GBP

The fourth license type provided by GSC is B2B Software Supplier License; the key features of it are:

• The licensees get listed in the GSC games registry and can subsequently offer software to Isle of Man operators. Standard fiat platform providers and blockchain-based software providers can obtain this license.
• The offered software is to be tested and get certified to become eligible for the license. Thus, the licensed software providers are not required to go through additional certification processes thereby smoothing the integration of software.

Isle of Man Gambling License

Year of foundation	Population	Currency	GDP
1765	83,314	GBP	$35,000

Licensing Requirements

Following are the requirements that must be met by the license applicant for consideration for an Isle of Man gambling license as a gambling operator:

• It needs to be a company limited by shares and in the Isle of Man whichever type of gambling activities (online or offline) are used.
• There needs to be evidence on record that the company is under the control of persons with integrity who have the competence to run such a company.
• The company shall have adequate financial means available for conducting a gambling business.
• Where applicable, game servers need to be situated on the Isle of Man.
• If applicable, RNGs and gambling systems shall be certified by an approved independent software testing house.
• Drafting gambling rules of the jurisdiction oriented to the customers and preparing to publish them on the business website in several world languages. The absence of this information is considered as an attempt to mislead users or to conceal information.
• Drafting internal AML/CFT policy and procedures related to risk assessment concerning money laundering and terrorist financing, and reporting thereof.
• While an applicant under a Full License has to be prepared with an initial capital requirement of 100,000 GBP or its equivalent, the amount varies with respect to the type of activities – our team herein Finwyn Consultancy LTD will gladly consult you should you seek information tailored to your business model accordingly.

The following documents shall be filed before the GSC:

• Business plan that should include the description of gaming equipment and software to be used, target market, the rules of games, marketing plan, and operational structure.
• Detailed description of games offered.
• Full analysis of the financial model and financial projections for the next 3 years.
• Third-party RNG certificate or confirmation of the application for such.
• Software description and TST report.
• Proof that the servers are housed in the Isle of Man.
• Notarized photocopies of the shareholders’ and directors’ passports.
• CVs of the company directors proving relevant professional experience.
• Shareholders’ bank statements no older than 3 months.
• Personal declaration forms for the individuals applying for a license.
• Certificates of the absence of criminal records of the shareholders and directors no older than 3 months.
• Proof of the registered office address, which should be in the Isle of Man, is required.
• A statement of the shareholders confirming that access to proposed gaming services by minors is blocked and information about problem gambling is published on business website.

The licensing process is quite extensive and well-controlled: before granting a license, the commissioners have to consult with the Treasury, the Department of Economic Development, the Financial Supervision Commission, the Chief Constable, and the Isle of Man Data Protection Supervisor. However, unlike regulators in other European jurisdictions, the GSC isn’t obliged to give reasons for refusing to grant a license.

How to Establish a Gambling or e-Gaming Company in the Isle of Man

To get the Isle of Man gambling license, first you need to create a Company Limited by Shares Ltd under the Companies Act 2006. The standard registration takes up to 48 hours once all the documents that have been submitted are in order, though it can be faster using higher fees to register. Since the Isle of Man is a British Crown dependency, the official language is English, so you probably will not need to spend your time in translating the documents of application.

Key Requirements for a Company Limited by Shares (Ltd):

• At least 2 local directors appointed within one month of incorporation
• A registered agent as defined by section 74(3) of the Act
• An application for the incorporation of a company can be filed only by the person named in the Memorandum as the first registered agent
• A company must have a registered physical office address in the Isle of Man
• There are no requirements for a company secretary and annual general meetings aren’t obligatory. Accounting records and financial statements must be kept at least 6 years and may be held anywhere in the world and in any currency.

Following are the documents that are required for the formation of a company:

• A Memorandum of Association
• Articles of Association
• Photocopies of shareholders’ passports
• Proof of paid registration fees
• Proof of registered office address located in the Isle of Man

The Memorandum of Association shall be drawn up containing the following:

• Company name
• Legal form of the company
• Name of the first registered agent of the company
• Full name and residential or business address of each shareholder
• The agreement of each shareholder to take one or more shares on the incorporation of the company
• The objects for which the company is established
• The registration fees, paid to the Companies Registry, as below:
• 100 GBP – for an ordinary registration, in 48 hours from when the application documents are in receipt of the department
• 250 GBP – for a same-day registration, in 2 hours. It can be provided only if the registration documents are received by the department prior to 2.30 pm on a working day
• 500 GBP – for fast-tracked registration while the person who has presented the documents waits, provided the registration documents are received by the department before 4 pm on a business day

All registrations are subject to receipt of the correct fee, complete documentation, and an acceptable company name. A registration fee paid to the department is non-refundable whether or not the company is registered in accordance with the indicated turnaround.

To establish a company in the Isle of Man, you need to do the following:

• Come up with and book a unique and compliant company name in English or any other language; it has to end with the word “Limited” or abbreviation “Ltd” and shall not contain words signifying regulated activities, or offensive words.
• Find a registered agent of the company, holding a Class 4 license issued by the Financial Services Authority under the Financial Services Act 2008
• Open a bank account with a local bank
• Find and sign an agreement with verified payment processors, possibly with a wide range of safe payment options.
• Transfer the required minimum share capital to the local bank account in any currency
• Settle the incorporation fees
• Submit incorporation documents to the Companies Registry

Best Isle of Man Casinos

Application Process for Gambling License

After the company is established and a letter from the GSC that the application has been accepted, the gambling license application process in the Isle of Man usually takes up to 3 months. This period is rather swift compared with other jurisdictions. You should note that incomplete applications can be delayed and, therefore, it’s advised to consult with legal consultants beforehand that might help you in preparation regarding the documents and information required in an application. If the application gets accepted, the license will be granted for a five-year period but is reserved right for GSC to revoke it at any time.

Key steps of applying for a gambling license are as follows:

• The application fee is paid: 5,000 GBP in respect of a Full License, Sub-License, or Network Services Licence
• Application form and the vetting form with all the required documents are forwarded to the GSC.
• In case a license is to be granted under GBLA, an applicant shall publish in a newspaper in the Isle of Man a notice of the application. It should thereby state that any person who desires to object to the grant of the license should notify the GSC.
• The GSC may request a meeting with the Designated Official and Operations Manager, where appointed, to discuss the business model and gain an understanding of the key aspects in relation to the proposed business.
• Attendance at a formal hearing leading to the decision to grant or refuse a license.

Regulated United Europe will be pleased to help you with the incorporation of a company and a gambling or e-gaming license in the Isle of Man. The provided dedicated legal advisors, tax experts, and financial accountants will guide you in making your incorporation and application processes smooth, seamless, and transparent.

Also, lawyers from Regulated United Europe provide legal services for obtaining a crypto license in Europe.