Tax Relief Introduced for Isle of Man Gaming Operators

The Isle of Man government has introduced a new bill set to mitigate the effects of the new UK online gaming regulations which came into force in the beginning of December. The new UK regulations introduced a 15% point of consumption tax which every gaming operator catering to UK citizens must pay regardless of location. While some operators received the new situation and adapted to it, others have decided to leave the UK market.

Double Duty Relief

Under the new bill which is effective immediately, operators will be able to claim Double Duty Relief on money that would have been paid to the Isle of Man's treasury as gambling duty for operations in the UK before the point of consumption tax was introduced.

The new bill is a part of an agreement reached between the Isle of Man Treasury and the HM Revenue and Customs earlier this year. The Isle of Man has also come a step forward operators in sparing them the appointing of a fiscal representative in the UK, saving the attached costs.

Result of a Good Relationship

CEO for e-Gaming development at the Isle of Man Department of Economic Development, Peter Greenhill, explained the agreements reached as a result of a good relationship between the department and the HMRC. According to Greenhill, the Isle of Man government recognized the tax burden on operators due to the new UK regulations and decided to offer the relief despite lacking a legal bound to do so.

"This decision provides reassurance to Isle of Man licence holders so that they can continue to run their operations from data centres on the Isle of Man and base their decision making capabilities here," said Greenhill. There are 56 licensed gaming operators in the Isle of Man, with iGaming consisting 13% of its GDP.