Isle of Man to change casino regulation
A bill proposal is set to amend existing regulations in the Isle of Man to prevent money laundering and establish more effective licensing rules.
Isle of Man.- Members of the Isle of Man’s House of Keys are close to make an amendment to current existing casino regulations in the island through a proposed bill. The draft is aimed to prevent money laundering through gaming venues and would set more effective rules for licensing in the Crown Dependency.
Last week, lawmakers approved the bill after its earlier consideration at a second reading. With this proposed change to current casino regulation, existing venues (the only operational casino in the island is the Western Palace Hotel & Casino) would be able to move their facilities while still holding the same license. Until now, the original Casino Act wouldn’t allow operators to transfer their licenses after moving their premises from one site to another.
Furthermore, once the amendment gets rolled out the Council of Ministers will have the authority to make licensees provide a deposit before a bidding process is opened. Current laws require operators to make a 20 percent deposit of the total cost of the venue.
New regulation would give the Gambling Supervision Commission the resposibility to control gaming activity in order to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. If violations were detected, it would also have the power to cancel a casino license.
Isle of Man’s casino activity is currently ruled by the more than 30 year old Casino Act that would be modified to improve control over casinos in the area. The island is well known for recognising the importance of gaming regulation as, for example, it introduced some specifically drafted to control the incipient iGaming indusrty.
Isle of Man has attractive fees that have turned it into a popular licensing hub in Europe. Licensees pay 1.5 percent tax on gross gaming yield (GGY) of under 20 million pounds (US$25.95 million), 0.5 percent on GGY between 20 million and 40 million pounds (US$25.95-51.89 million) and 0.1 percent on GGY of over 40 million pounds.
