The Isle of Man had a major presence in London last week at the ICE Totally Gaming Exhibition.
ICE is the premier exhibition in Europe for Gaming companies and is attended by entrepreneurs and business leaders from across the globe including terrestrial and online gaming companies, hardware and software providers, gaming platform providers, operators and affiliates. Many companies use the exhibition as an opportunity to make contact with jurisdictions where they are considering obtaining a gaming licence to compare and contrast the various benefits and advantages of one jurisdiction over another.
The Isle of Man contingent, which consisted of members of the Government and a very significant number of those from the private sector, were inundated with enquiries and received over 200 visitors to the stand over the three days, over 75% of whom showed genuine interest in the Isle of Man as an e-Gaming jurisdiction.
The key themes that emerged over the three days included the Isle of Man’s highly respected reputation, the simple licensing structure, player protection safeguards, the new Network Licence, the ease of the application process and the Island’s robust, reliable technical infrastructure.
Alex Downie OBE, MLC, the Department of Economic Development’s Political Member with responsibility for E-gaming, attended the show on the opening day and was delighted with the interest that he saw. He said:
'This is the premier European Gaming exhibition for the e-Gaming community which generates a lot of interest and potential new business for the Island. The Isle of Man put on a great show and I was particularly pleased to see the Government and industry working side by side as usual. The popularity of the exhibition clearly demonstrates the growing importance of the E-Business sector globally and that the Island is at the fore-front of the industry.'
Ray Davies, E-Gaming Development Manager, said:
'We received a lot of interest on the stand this year. The Island has an excellent reputation and most of the visitors were from companies who recognise the Isle of Man as their preferred jurisdiction for an E-Gaming licence.'
Mr Davies went on to say:
'A lot of the companies that approached the Island were looking to obtain their first gaming licence, but we also had our fair share of enquiries from companies already established in other jurisdictions and interested in what the Island had to offer. We are confident that we can convert the interest that we have received into real business for the Island.'
