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IOMs economic strategy in tatters?


Idleweiss

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In the last few days we’ve seen both an attack on traditional CSP style tax planning in the press:

Super-rich being advised how to avoid Labour tax clampdown, undercover investigation suggests

https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jul/25/super-rich-being-advised-how-to-avoid-labour-tax-clampdown-undercover-investigation-suggests

And the high profile termination of two e-gaming licenses:

The independent statutory body established to govern all gambling activities on the Isle of Man has announced tough regulatory actions against two companies that held a license in the country.

https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/isle-of-man-gambling-regulator-cancels-two-licenses/

The IOMs current purely aspirational economic plan is to grow by bringing in (largely mythical) new residents but upon closer inspection what industries are actually scaling up in order to provide these people with employment opportunities which enable them to move over? As even e-gaming now is looking highly vulnerable and we haven’t had the MONEYVAL inspection as yet. 

Any private business would have called a strategic review at this stage as the product it offers is clearly not capable of delivering the corporate objectives it has set out to achieve. There has never been any Plan B either. 

 

 

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There currently is no egaming strategy and a new one is being worked on as the sector is changing. There’s still an opportunity for the IoM to be successful in it but we’ll see if they can find the right path. 

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Just now, Amadeus said:

There currently is no egaming strategy and a new one is being worked on as the sector is changing. There’s still an opportunity for the IoM to be successful in it but we’ll see if they can find the right path. 

It’s IOM Government we pretty much know that they won’t find the right path. 

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5 minutes ago, Idleweiss said:

It’s IOM Government we pretty much know that they won’t find the right path. 

They did once upon a time.  But this was driven by them listening to the private sector.  Now they think they know best.... 

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Posted (edited)
9 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

They did once upon a time.  But this was driven by them listening to the private sector.  Now they think they know best.... 

I fully agree with you there. And look where we are. The next public sector pay demand is going to tip them into the abyss. The current strategy is out of line with the demand to produce income to meet government expectations.

Edited by Idleweiss
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6 minutes ago, Idleweiss said:

I fully agree with you there. And look where we are. The next public sector pay demand is going to tip them into the abyss. The current strategy is out of line with the demand to produce income to meet government expectations.

Not just e-gaming.  It's the full CSP/yachting/aviation/insurance industry.  Zero tax plus some new/tweaked legislation based upon feedback from the industry.

Now we have the AI Biosphere 

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7 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

Not just e-gaming. 

I didn’t say it was. Across the board the IOM is screwed. Of course they’ll blame the UK Labour government for what ultimately happens but the reality is that it’s a terrible strategy, aligned with terrible implementation of the strategy, and the terrible implementation of the regulatory environment. I don’t think it’s coincidental that the head of e-gaming is now being re-recruited. The relatively relaxed business friendly risk-based approach environment he has developed (which he should be applauded for) now seems to have bitten us on the arse in a high profile way and it will just be the same doom in that sector ahead that we already have in Trust / CSP and wider financial services. Nobody is attracted to move anywhere by higher regulation, increased compliance costs, and less financial benefits. 

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I'd honestly agree that a little bit of regulation is a good thing.  It discourages the most blantant of cowboys/criminals and demonstrates a jurisdiction's acceptance of an industry.  The inherent problem however, is that if you employ someone to make rules, they generally won't stop making them, usually in order to further justify their existence.  

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19 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

I'd honestly agree that a little bit of regulation is a good thing.  It discourages the most blantant of cowboys/criminals...

Question 10 on the application sorts that...'Do you have a bent nose and tattoos?'

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3 hours ago, Amadeus said:

There currently is no egaming strategy and a new one is being worked on as the sector is changing. There’s still an opportunity for the IoM to be successful in it but we’ll see if they can find the right path. 

IOMG finding any path would be a first , they usually  end up lost stumbling through the undergrowth.

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In parts IoM has become too strict and bureaucratic where egaming is concerned. We are lucky right now that Curacao is a total clownshow and Malta dead slow and hard to deal with.  Other jurisdictions aren’t asleep though. New players are entering the field and as long as a gambling licence is accepted by games providers and some payment firms, that’s all these companies really want. We are at risk of becoming irrelevant and that’s largely due to the grey market disappearing. The one the IoM can accept that is. 

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9 minutes ago, Amadeus said:

New players are entering the field and as long as a gambling licence is accepted by games providers and some payment firms, that’s all these companies really want...

Not quite.

"The new gambling minister, Fiona Twycross, was appointed this week. Government insiders said they would take a sensible approach to the need to reduce harm, while recognising that many people gamble responsibly":

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/25/harm-from-problem-gambling-in-uk-may-be-eight-times-higher-than-thought

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3 minutes ago, Amadeus said:

In parts IoM has become too strict and bureaucratic where egaming is concerned. We are lucky right now that Curacao is a total clownshow and Malta dead slow and hard to deal with.  Other jurisdictions aren’t asleep though. New players are entering the field

Curacao hasn’t changed a bit and if you want no regulations and a worthless bit of paper then the Comoros Islands will gladly take your money. Or Kahnawake. LOL.

Malta are bureaucratic because of MONEYVAL too. Many of the MONEYVAL rules are bureaucratic bollocks, rules for the sake of rules. But if as a country you don’t abide by them then you get put on the naughty step. Getting put on the naughty step cost Gibraltar 15% of its GDP and that’s just the cost it will publicly admit to.

I also see PAGCOR have just been ordered to shut up shop by the end of the year too.

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2 minutes ago, Ringy Rose said:

Curacao hasn’t changed a bit and if you want no regulations and a worthless bit of paper then the Comoros Islands will gladly take your money. Or Kahnawake. LOL.

Malta are bureaucratic because of MONEYVAL too. Many of the MONEYVAL rules are bureaucratic bollocks, rules for the sake of rules. But if as a country you don’t abide by them then you get put on the naughty step. Getting put on the naughty step cost Gibraltar 15% of its GDP and that’s just the cost it will publicly admit to.

I also see PAGCOR have just been ordered to shut up shop by the end of the year too.

PAGCOR isn’t shutting down. POGOs are and even for them there will be exemptions. PIGO is still going, a sis land based and many POGOs will likely migrate to CEZA, so business as usual. 

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