eGaMing

If you are performing activities such as registering players, offering the gamble and striking the bet using Isle of Man infrastructure you will need to be licensed under the Online Gambling Regulation Act 2001 (OGRA).

However not all gaming related activities require an OGRA Licence. For example marketing, free-play games with no prizes, administration of gaming companies, call centres, customer support, disaster recovery provisions and the design/sales/testing/maintenance of software do not require a licence.

The Isle of Man has earned the reputation of being an innovative regulator, always at the forefront of new developments. Integrity is of the utmost importance to the Island, with crime free gambling and player protection at the heart of its licensing regime.

The credibility of being able to demonstrate a company is upholding Isle of Man standards of corporate governance, especially with regards to AML/CFT/KYC requirements, is invaluable for companies looking for B2B partnerships, investment, financial services and respect. Additionally, the unblemished record of player protection ensures players feel confident their funds are safe with an Isle of Man licensee.

Alongside a whole host of financial benefits, the Isle of Man has a quick and simple licence application process that aims to provide you with a decision between 10 and 12 weeks from submission of the application; this speedy process ensures your business will be fully operational as quickly as possible.

The type of licence you need is determined by your business activity. Activities covered by each of our licences is as follows:

FULL LICENCE

This is the most popular licence and will allow you to perform B2C activities such as offering the game, striking the bet and registering players as well as B2B activities such as offering Sub-Licences and White Labels to other operators. One licence covers all gaming verticals, poker, bingo, sportsbook, slots, casino, mah-jong, esports etc. as well as new ideas and unique games.

NETWORK LICENCE

The Network Licence carries the same privileges as the Full Licence but in addition, you may use the Network Licence to accept players from global operators (Network Partners) on to your gameplay and back office servers without registering them. This is useful for pooling liquidity as well as operating networks and progressive jackpots.

SUB-LICENCE

Sub-Licence holders must have an exclusive relationship with a Full Licence holder in which they only offer the products the Full Licensee they ‘sub’ under is licensed to offer. If a Sub-Licence holder wishes to offer further products from a different supplier they need to upgrade to a Full Licence. Therefore the Sub-Licence is more suited to smaller operators who have no requirement to use various sources of content.  

SOFTWARE SUPPLIER LICENCE

This is an elective licence, meaning it is possible to offer software provision services from the Isle of Man and to Isle of Man B2C licensees with or without a licence. After receiving numerous requests from Software Suppliers who wanted to demonstrate their credibility by showing the highly regarded Isle of Man badge on their website this licence was launched in 2019.

This licence can cover traditional software supplies such as slots, casinos, platforms, back office functions and live dealer studios as well as re-sellers of these products allowing operators and software providers to be assured their B2B partners are operating to high standards of corporate governance and minimise the risk of tainting the supplier’s reputation and funds.

The Software licence enables a business to list all of its game and platform content on the Approved Software Registry which facilitates fast and easy deployment of games for operators.

TOKEN/BLOCKCHAIN-BASED SOFTWARE SUPPLIER LICENCE

This licence is for the supply of software products that involve cryptocurrency and/or blockchain products for the gaming sector. As with the Software Supplier Licence, this licence is elective, it is possible to offer these products to Isle of Man licensee without licensing them with the Gambling Supervision Commission.

No, this comes as part of the standard licensing.

The licensing process in the Isle of Man is very straightforward. You are never far away from expert support and advice from both the Digital Isle of Man team and our Island’s world-class service providers, who will be able to guide you through the licensing process, business incorporation and beyond.

Once a licence application is lodged, you can expect a 10-12 week turnaround time.

An Isle of Man company will need to be incorporated, with 2 resident Directors, to become the licence holder. Licensees are also required to have either an Operations Manager or Designated Official resident on the Isle of Man, it is possible for one of the Directors to fulfil this role.

All licence applications are subject to an application fee of £5,250. A new application is required every 5 years.

Gambling Duty is based on gross gaming yield/profit, not turnover and paid at the following rates per annum:

• On the first £20 million of profit, 1.5% duty is payable
• On the next £20 million of profit, 0.5% duty is payable
• On any amount in excess of the first £40 million profit, 0.1% duty is payable
• Corporation Tax is 0%
• Capital Gains Tax is non-existent
• Inheritance Tax is non-existent
• VAT is charged at the standard rate of 20%

Yes, all our licences allow for the use of crypto-currency as a method of deposit, staking and withdrawal. There is no extra licensing required to offer crypto-gaming. This legislation has been in place since January 2017.

This is perfectly allowable, skins can be gambled in a safe and KYC transparent and compliant fashion under an Isle of Man licence.

All types of gambling verticals, software provision and the use of digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and skins are covered by an Isle of Man gambling licence.

Licence applications must be renewed every 5 years, with a £5,250 application fee payable.

No, banking outside of the Isle of Man is permitted with the basic requirement being the bank is Basel II compliant. However the Isle of Man has a number of specialist banks that will work with the operator to provide international banking services to meet both their operational needs and regulatory requirements for player funds.

The servers, where the bets are struck, should be hosted in the Isle of Man (unless waiver agreed or operating under a Software Supplier's Licence). Players should be registered on servers located in the Isle of Man (unless waiver agreed or operating under a Network Services Licence or Software Supplier Licence).

As the Isle of Man is independent from the EEA and EU, there is no direct impact on the Island’s eGaming regime from Brexit and Isle of Man licensees remain unaffected. In fact, the Isle of Man can offer a position of certainty to operators and suppliers and its licensees continue to thrive, profiting from the global partnerships that the Isle of Man’s vast international connections provide.