Poker Industry Takes Over Isle of Man

The Isle of Man has long been known as one of the few online gaming havens, with the UK jurisdiction serving as the headquarters for some of the top online poker and gaming operators in the world. That reputation has now been solidified after the online gaming sector is officially the Isle of Man’s largest economic industry.

Online gaming in the jurisdiction grew 30% over the 2013-14 financial year, which has given the sector a 16.7% share of the Isle of Man’s overall economy. That is slightly higher than the Isle’s insurance sector, which covers 14.6% of the overall economy.

In real money terms, online gaming in the Isle of Man is now worth £690 million (around US$1.07 billion), which unofficially marks the first time that the industry has reached the billion dollar mark. The industry was worth £530 million (around US$823 million) in the previous financial year.

The continuous online gaming growth comes as little surprise to those who follow the industry; given that a number of the world’s largest online gaming companies base their operations out of the Isle of Man. Such companies include 188Bet; which sponsors English Premier League club Bolton Wanderers, and Microgaming; a software development company which boasts to have released the first genuine online casino in 1994.

In poker, the Isle of Man is particularly well known for being the headquarters of Amaya-owned PokerStars since 2005. With a seven day player average of 15500, according to PokerScout, PokerStars has long been the largest online poker operator in the world and as demonstrated has brought large economic growth to the Isle.

It remains to be seen whether or not the 2013-14 growth in online gaming can be repeated in the Isle of Man in 2014-15.

Either way, the sheer size of Isle of Man-based online poker companies like PokerStars mean that it will remain an important part of the online gaming industry, as well as the Isle’s overall economy.