The Department of Economic Development has welcomed the announcement that PokerStars has committed its future to the Isle of Man following its recent takeover by Amaya Gaming Group Inc.
 
General Counsel to the Rational Group of Companies Paul Telford wrote an open letter to the Chief Minister reiterating the company’s commitment to the Isle of Man.
 
Leonard Singer MHK, the Department Member with responsibility for e-Business said:
 
‘The letter to the Chief Minister from Paul Telford offered the reassurance that we were looking for and also represents a strong endorsement of the Isle of Man’s standing as a centre for e-Gaming excellence.
 
In his letter to the Chief Minister, Mr Telford stated:
 
“…I would like to reiterate that PokerStars chose the Isle of Man for its headquarters because we believe it represents the gold standard in e-Gaming regulation. Amongst those limited jurisdictions that offer e-Gaming licences, the island takes a leading role in the areas of customer protection, fraud prevention, tax transparency and anti-money laundering.
 
“…The stated intention of Amaya is ‘business as usual’ and to leave things unchanged as much as possible. I can therefore confirm there are no planned redundancies. On the contrary, the clear intention of the acquisition is to take PokerStars on to even greater heights with plans for launches of new products and expansion into new territories…such plans will likely lead to growth and job opportunities for the talent that exists in the local market…”
 
Mr Singer continued:
 
‘I was delighted that the letter acknowledged the strength of our regulatory environment and their plans to expand the Isle of Man operation with the prospect of further job creation in the Isle of Man.
 
‘I was also encouraged by their public commitment to continue to their welcome support for local charitable causes and other community-based sponsorships.’
 
CEO for e-Gaming Development with the Department of Economic Development, Peter Greenhill said:
 
‘The fact that we have a number of major global brands in e-Gaming and e-Business headquartered in the Isle of Man is an influential factor when we seek to attract further business to the Isle of Man. We are confident that growth within e-Gaming and the broader e-Business sector will continue such that it will represent 23% of our economy by 2020 and employ 2400 people.’