Isle of Man e-gaming summit a success
News on 17 Dec 2010
News on 17 Dec 2010
Executives from some of the online gambling industry’s most influential and successful companies based on the Isle of Man gathered at an e-gaming summit hosted by top international professional business services provider KPMG last month.
Over 150 delegates from both on and off the Island, an industry regulatory jurisdiction, listened to expert specialist presentations and participated in a vigorous discussion session at the Mount Murray hotel. Spotted in the audience were well known industry managers such as Greg Petts of Pokerstars, Roger Raatgever from Microgaming, Bill Mummery of Celton Manx, Richard Ebbutt of Continent 8, and Dan Starr from Neovia Financial. They were joined by senior Isle of Man government personnel including and Brian Donegan from the Department of Economic Development.
This inaugural summit was opened by The Honourable Allan Bell, Minister of the Department of Economic Development, and focused on the Isle of Man as an e-gaming jurisdiction. A number of key speakers from government and the private sector discussed measures to ensure that the island remains a desirable and effective jurisdiction that is globally competitive in a growing industry.
The afternoon session then focused on broader issues affecting the industry as a whole, such as regulation, insurance and future trends. It drew to a close with a panel of experts fielding questions from the delegates. The numbers of delegates in the afternoon session swelled to 180 as extra tables were added to accommodate members of the press and other interested parties.
A post-event report is currently being prepared for release in January, sponsored by Continent 8 Technologies; this will capture the key themes and issues raised at the Summit with the intention of presenting them as catalysts for further debate.
The e-gaming industry plays an important role in the Isle of Man economy, directly employing hundreds of employees, and is a major secondary employer through the use of local IT and financial services. KPMG and Continent 8 hope to follow up the Summit’s success with the eClub, a regular networking event for people associated with the industry on the Island.
Micky Swindale, Associate Director at KPMG Isle of Man and event coordinator, commented: “The Summit was a great success, not only as an educational and networking tool for the delegates, but also as a way of raising the profile of this key industry. The Isle of Man has a huge part to play in the global e-gaming industry and this sort of engagement between the key players is essential to the jurisdiction continuing to thrive.”
