IOM operators prepared for POC

Peter Greenhill, the CEO of e-Gaming Development at Isle of Man’s Department of Economic Development, has belied any sense of panic around the UK’s point of consumption laws, which are now due to come in on 1 November. In a piece by IOM Today, Greenhill suggested all the jurisdiction’s operators were well prepared for the change.

He said he did not envisage any race against time to beat the deadline for applications and that the UK-facing operators had already applied for a UK licence and others with only marginal business in the UK would not bother.

One of the most high profile operators based on the island who have apparently decided against a licence is SBOBet, which will be a bit of a blow to some of the UK’s main football clubs considering the amount of sponsorship money the firm has ploughed into the sport over the years.

However the island’s biggest fish – PokerStars owber The Rational Group – has decided to apply. Eric Hollreiser, head of corporate communications at PokerStars told the paper: “The Rational Group has applied for licensing under the UK’s new arrangements, and will offer uninterrupted services to players. The Isle of Man will continue to be our operational base. ‘Most importantly for players, we have volunteered to adhere to the highest standard of player protection for account balances of UK players.”