Isle of Man Licensing Jurisdiction

Located between Great Britain and Ireland in the Irish Sea, the British Crown Dependency otherwise known as The Isle of Man (aka Mann) in fact has its own government and is not recognised as being a part of the UK. However, they do depend on the UK with matters relating to foreign issues as well as relying on the UK for defence reasons.

The island has strived to bring businesses (gambling operators) back to their jurisdiction since an e-gaming market crash back in the earlier part of the decade that left them with virtually nothing. They have since managed to bring back a large number of new operators.

Being independent, the Isle of Man can adjust and adapt specific licensing requirements accordingly, should they see this as a necessary course of action. Gaming in the Isle of Mann is currently overseen by the Gambling Supervision Commission.

Operators seeking a license will simply fill out the necessary paperwork (supplied by the commission) and after thorough inspection, they will determine whether the applicant qualifies for being able to obtain a new gambling license.

Upon successful application (and only if approved by the commission), the following requirements will be needed: Each year there is a license renewal fee that costs a fixed £35,000. In addition to this, an additional 1.5% tax fee will be charged on a gross gaming income up to the maximum value of £20,000,000. Since as recent as 2010, online casinos and spotsbooks, as well as other e-gaming websites were granted authority to base the headquarters anywhere on The Isle of Man for their non-gaming operations such as admin, customer services/support and marketing.

An advantage for gambling businesses means that any company who is licensed under this jurisdiction is currently allowed to advertise their product and services anywhere in the United Kingdom. This is because The Isle of Man features in the UK Gambling Control Commission's jurisdiction whitelist.

The standards for accepting applications has gradually become more of a strict process over the past few years, making it more difficult for businesses to receive licenses, but at the same time the process has helped to keep out rogue operators. Any online gambling sites that operate from this jurisdiction are usually seen as trustworthy businesses and less risk is associated with these sites. Players can be more sure that their funds are in safe hands and that if they receive a win, they will not have any problems receiving the cash.

Should a dispute arise, player protection and a fair hearing will be warranted without fail. The only thing to watch out for is those companies who claim to be licensed from this jurisdiction, when in fact they are not.