IOM head of gaming says online is “booming”
News on 14 Jan 2016
News on 14 Jan 2016
In an interview with the newspaper IOM Today this week, the head of the island government’s e-gaming division, Mark Robson said the sector is booming and is expected to grow further in 2016.
Robson revealed that the latest government statistics to hand (covering the period 2013 – 2014) show that the e-gaming sector generated 16.7 percent of GDP in the Isle of Man economy, and that this figure could have already increased to around 20 percent of GDP.
A keen and in the past semi-professional poker player, Robson says he retains a passion for the game in his free time, and that his experiences as an online player help him understand the industry better.
He previously worked with one of the island’s biggest online gambling firms, Microgaming, and says that this experience helps him in his work of boosting the industry by bringing more businesses to the island.
‘I can use my contacts and experiences to help develop this industry in the Isle of Man to essentially bring more companies here and put more bums on seats,” he said. “If I can use what I have done historically to bring more benefit to the island then that’s got to be great.”
Robson says that a healthy online gambling industry on the Isle of Man generates growth for other industries:
‘For example in the service sector, with more people coming in and more being earned by eGaming there will be more spend in the local shops and places such as hotels,’ he said, adding that professional services like accounting, law, data centres and software providers all provided interaction and support.
The e-gaming chief said that his division works closely with the respected Gambling Supervision Commission and shares its values and a ‘quality over quantity’ philosophy..
