Isle of Man takes action against iGaming software owner in regulated sector
The owner of Boldwood Software has been prohibited from participating in any regulated gambling activities on the island.
UK.- The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) has indefinitely prohibited Phua Cheng Wan, the owner of Boldwood Software, from participating in any regulated gambling activities on the island. The igaming platform provider held an Isle of Man licence from November 2022 until May 2025 but voluntarily gave it up after receiving an Enforcement Report and Notice from the regulator.
The GSC had planned a meeting for early June to review the potential cancellation of Boldwood’s licence after launching a probe into whether Phua met the criteria of a “fit and proper” individual. While no charges are being brought, the regulator says it investigation found ties between Phua and “bad actors”, including criminal networks.
Under the Online Gambling Regulation Act 2001 (OGRA), licence holders must be operated by individuals of proven integrity. As such, the regulator has decided to prohibit Phua from all roles within the licensed gambling sector of the Isle of Man. It clarified that the ban is indefinite, but may be lifted if Phua successfully petitions for its reversal. It added that his cooperation during the investigation, including acknowledging the facts, helped bring the matter to a quicker resolution.
According to its website, Boldwood claims to have “over six decades of expertise in all things iGaming”. That’s presumably toting up the experience of each individual in the company, otherwise it would have been working in the sector since several decades before the invention of the internet.
The regulatory decision comes as the Isle of Man’s gambling framework faces scrutiny, particularly over white-label operations. In July, the GSC imposed a £3,937,500 civil penalty on Celton Manx, the operator of the SBOTOP sportsbook for multiple anti-money laundering (AML) compliance failures.
Celton Manx had already surrendered its Isle of Man licence back in May. A few days later, it was confirmed that TGP Europe, which ran SBOTOP in Britain under a white-label agreement, had surrendered its British licence after the Gambling Commission said it would have to pay a £3.3m fine, also for AML breaches.
