Despite significant challenges in the wake of the recent fire at the Mount Murray Hotel, the 2013 KPMG eGaming Summit IOM was once again a resounding success, attracting over 200 delegates to its replacement venue, The Palace Hotel, on Tuesday 12th November. This year’s Summit was the fourth in the Isle of Man and the seventh in a series which spans both Gibraltar and the Isle of Man and aims to bring key stakeholders and industry representatives together in an open forum to discuss the future of the global online gaming industry and its implications for local e-business clusters.
Highlights of the day included an opening address by the Hon. John Shimmin MHK, Minister for Economic Development as well as a joint IOM specific sector update provided by Steve Brennan of the Gambling Supervision Commission and the Department of Economic Development’s new CEO for eGaming Development, Peter Greenhill. Introducing the first of three panel sessions, also on a topic of particular importance to the global industry, was Hilary Stewart-Jones of law firm DLA Piper who was joined by key panelists to discuss the importance of keeping crime out of gambling and the challenges of enforcement in remote gaming.
KPMG was also very pleased to welcome Sue Rossiter of the Remote Gambling Association. Sue was joined by Bill Robinson, Chairman of KPMG’s Economics and Regulations team and Adam Rivers, Assistant Manager in the same team. Together, they covered a number of key messages from an economist’s perspective of the proposed changes to UK online gambling taxation, notably the proposed tax structure, as well as its rate and potential risks to the regulated European industry and UK based consumers.
This year’s closing address was provided by the KPMG eGaming team Micky Swindale, Archie Watt and Russell Kelly who took the opportunity to once again thank the day’s attendees and speakers, as well as Summit sponsors Celton Manx, PokerStars, Manx Telecom, Microgaming, Paddy Power, Call Credit Information Group, Isle of Man Post Office, Jumio and regular sponsors of the forthcoming KPMG eGaming Summit Report, Continent 8 Technologies.
Particular thanks were also offered to a number of Government representatives, local businesses and individuals for their significant contribution to ensuring that the Summit went ahead without further disruption. Expressing her thanks, Associate Director Micky Swindale stated: “This year carried with it some unusual challenges for us and it was a quite humbling last week to see how many people stepped up and offered their support. Our sponsors rallied round us without exception and a number of individuals, including the Mount Murray Hotel, were extraordinarily cooperative. There were hundreds of Summit delegates counting on their help and they were rewarded with a day’s fascinating insight and discussion which can only help to cement the profile of the Isle of Man as a world leader in eGaming.”
Commenting on the day’s events, Russell Kelly, Director responsible for eGaming, stated “Despite challenging conditions, this year’s eGaming Summit was a remarkable success but it simply would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors, speakers, delegates, the Isle of Man Government and, as was especially apparent this year, the Island’s business community as a whole. We are committed to remaining at the heart of this sector and to maintaining KPMG’s eGaming expertise throughout Europe as well as in pivotal, world leading e-business jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man. It’s our pleasure to be involved in this every year. We really do enjoy it and I hope our delegates got as much out of it as us. We look forward to next year’s Isle of Man eGaming Summit, which will be held at around the same time.”
Photo - Speakers and Panellists: (left to right) Nigel Birrell (recent Mergers & Acquisition director, bwin.party), Dominic Atkinson (Tailorbet), Archie Watt (KPMG), Neill Whyte (Microgaming), Steve Brennan (Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission), Russell Kelly (KPMG), Hilary Stewart-Jones (DLA Piper), Bill Robinson (KPMG UK), Sue Rossiter (Remote Gambling Association), Warwick Bartlett (GBGC), Peter Greenhill (Department of Economic Development), Adam Rivers (KPMG UK), Hon John Shimmin MHK (Department of Economic Development), Micky Swindale (KPMG).
