After the success of the first online gambling summit, Isle of Man is all set to hold another. Prominent players and operators of the online gambling industry have been invited to participate in the discussions to take place on the Island in Feb, 2025. The key aim of these discussions is to address the issue of the Island's potential to operate globally.

The summit will take place at Santon's Mount Murray Hotel on Feb 22. The members of the decision making body – and most importantly the stakeholders – will participate in the event's debates. The discussions of the event will be mainly with regard to the practices that should ideally be adopted to make sure that the Isle of Man continues to be a safe place to gamble.

Proceedings of the Event

The morning session of the summit will go over the gambling scenario of last year. The discussion will aim at identifying the key issues affecting the industry. It will focus on the firms that are licensed by and operating under the Isle of Man. The morning schedule of the summit will also include the Department of Economic Development's and the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission's relevant updates. The key issues arising in the changing environment of the gambling environment will be addressed towards the end of the morning session.

The post-lunch session will include discussions on the future of online gambling in the country. The end of the day will hold a special interactive session in which some specific gambling related issues can be discussed with the panel.

Russell Kelly on Internet Gambling

The man behind KPMG Isle of Man's online gaming services, Russell Kelly, stated that internet gambling contributes in a huge way towards the Manx economy. It is extremely important that the Island becomes an attractive destination for online gambling operations and a reliable jurisdiction to issue licenses.

To achieve the goal, contributions from experienced players and prominent gambling operators are required. Depending on how the industry develops and its needs change, the summit will be organized again in the near future.

KPMG Online Gaming Specialist’s Thoughts

A specialist of KPMG’s e-gaming services, Archie Watt, said that the world of online gambling – which includes online casinos that offer games like online roulette and blackjack – has gone through significant changes since the summit held last year. However, the US still doesn't approve online gambling, and Black Friday is a testament of this fact. The actions taken by the country's Department of Justice in this regard, was a shock for the poker industry. It served as a reminder that the provisions are not same for all jurisdictions.

Players who are yet to get back their money from Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker have been waiting for the past 5 months. Those who had withdrawals pending with PokerStars had their payout requests addressed quite quickly.

Driven by the goal of establishing itself as one of the safest platforms to gamble, the Isle of Man aims at conducting summits every year to discuss the key rules which should be adopted to regulate gambling operations. KPMG, which is holding the summit this year, operates globally with professional Tax advisors and Auditors.