* Isle Of Man Hopes To Lead The Way In E-Gaming With New RegulationsThe Isle of Man government's head of e-gaming Bill Mummery told the London Stock Exchange last week that new regulations governing online gaming have been introduced in an attempt to establish the Island as an "e-gaming centre of excellence."
"In the past year the Island has become a significant recognised force in global gaming – the industry is increasingly dynamic," Mr Mummery told a conference, which included potential investors, as he outlined changes to regulations in three key areas: software testing, disaster recovery provision and advertising and marketing.
The change to software testing will improve the process for testing online gambling technology, such as the fairness of Random Number Generators used to deal cards or spin a roulette wheel, and implements a need for continuous monitoring of the operators' systems to ensure fairness is maintained.
Under the new regulations, operators who are licensed and regulated in other jurisdictions can use the Island to provide disaster recovery and off-line data storage facilities to support their global operations.
Rules governing advertising and marketing have also been established on how Island-based online gaming businesses in this regard can support their clients.
"These changes will help the Isle of Man to win more business and respond to the changes needed as industry develops," Mr Mummery stated, adding that the Island had already made "significant progress," in developing an e-gaming industry, having attracted leaders from key sectors, including Microgaming, Neteller and PokerStars.
He added that these legislative changes – produced with the support of Berwin Leighton-Paisner, the London based international law firm – will increase the competitive advantage for the Island's economy and the operators.
Furthermore, a world-class telecommunications infrastructure and the planned introduction in April of zero rate corporate tax will also help the Island gain a competitive edge in the offshore e-gaming stakes.
The regulations will be formally laid before Tynwald in March.