A high-profile partnership with one of the eGaming industry’s most esteemed organisations ensured that this year’s KPMG eGaming Summit Isle of Man was, once again, a resounding success as over 200 delegates gathered together at the Villa Marina on 11th November.
This year’s Summit was KPMG’s fifth locally and the ninth in a series which spans both Gibraltar and the Isle of Man. The KPMG eGaming Summit series 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. This year, the global audit and advisory firm teamed up with the International Masters of Gaming Law, or IMGL, to deliver three of the organisation’s famous Masterclasses, attracting some of the industry’s most prominent decision makers to the Island to discuss its role in shaping the future of online gambling.
The first, addressing the topic of cross-border cooperation by regulators, was an invite-only event sponsored by SMP Partners and took place at the Claremont’s Sanderson Suite on the afternoon of the 10th November. Moderator Joerg Hofmann, President of IMGL, joined the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission’s Steve Brennan, Birgitte Sand of the Danish Gambling Authority, Jenny Williams of the British Gambling Commission and Richard Schuetz of the California Gaming Control Commission. Described by Mr Hofmann as a ‘truly international group of regulators which already maintains deep contact with one another’, the panel was ideally placed to discuss key issues pertaining to collaboration, best practice and information sharing in today’s global sector.
Following a wake-up breakfast kindly provided by sponsors Manx Telecom, the Summit proper opened at the Villa Gaiety on Tuesday 11th with a welcome address by Minister for the Department of Economic Development, Laurence Skelly, MHK. Minister Skelly provided a brief overview of the success of the Island’s eGaming sector, which now accounts for 13% of the Island’s GDP, before introducing the day’s first speaker Quirino Mancini of SCM Lawyers. Drawing upon a series of examples from his home jurisdiction Italy, which harbours a notoriously complex relationship with eGaming, Mr Mancini tackled the perennial problem of the controversial image of gaming in the face of media and public opinion. Steve Brennan and the Department of Economic Development’s CEO of eGaming Development, Peter Greenhill then delivered a staple of the Summit series, the local sector update, before introducing Eric Benz and Ben Robinson of locally incorporated cryptocurrency payment services intermediary GoCoin. A captivating discussion on the potential marriage between cryptocurrencies and eGaming from Messrs Benz and Robinson perfectly set the scene for the first of the day’s panel sessions, during which KPMG’s Head of eBusiness, Archie Watt, moderated a discussion between leading representatives of the industry’s payments sector entitled ‘Dodging the Brussels Bullets: Payment Processors’ Priorities’.
Following lunch, kindly sponsored by PokerStars, the first of the day’s IMGL Masterclasses took place. Moderator Dr. Wulf Hambach and panellists Susannah FitzGerald QC, Andrew Cotton and Paul Davis tackled the significant implications of operating in part-regulated and non-regulated online gaming markets, in a discussion which unearthed some fascinating insights into the role of regulation and its effect upon consumers in such a culturally diverse practice as online gambling. Paul Leyland of Regulus Partners followed with an erudite and penetrating analysis of point of consumption licensing and the dot com model before KPMG’s Head of VAT, Sandra Skuszka, delivered a particularly pertinent presentation on forthcoming changes to place of supply VAT rules for January 2015.
Representatives of the International Masters of Gaming Law returned to provide the final presentation of the day in a spirited debate concerning the US regulatory scheme and emerging market issues. Together, moderator Bill Gantz and distinguished panellists Ernest C. Matthews, IV, Hilary Stewart-Jones and Bill Mummery addressed the balance between engagement, regulation and investment within emerging markets, with Ms Stewart-Jones concluding: “You’re better embracing the industry than alienating it because then you get access to the data. That’s how progress is made.”
This year’s closing address was provided by KPMG’s Director of eGaming Services, Russell Kelly, who thanked speakers, panellists, attendees and event sponsors Manx Telecom, Continent 8, Celton Manx, PokerStars, SMP Partners, Affinity, Microgaming, IOM Post Office, W2 Global Data Solutions, ILS Fiduciaries and media partners iGaming Business and Gambling Insider. Mr Kelly paid particular thanks to event organisers Ashgrove Marketing, as well as Summit partners International Masters of Gaming Law for contributing towards a seminal addition to what is now one of the global industry’s most celebrated calendar events.
Commenting on the Summit, organiser Micky Swindale said: “Throughout the KPMG eGaming Summit series, we have always sought to provide the timeliest programme, populated by the most knowledgeable speakers available. This year’s addition of the International Masters of Gaming Law Masterclasses has helped to secure the Summit’s reputation as an event which truly is at the heart of the sector, and the Island’s reputation as one of the world’s foremost jurisdictions for eGaming. It was a pleasure to see such reputable speakers gather together in pursuit of cross-industry dialogue and shared knowledge, and to hear the response of our attendees, every one of whom contributed to the day’s success. We look forward to next year’s installment and invite you all to download the forthcoming Summit report, once again generously sponsored by Continent 8 Technologies.”
To download speaker presentations from the KPMG eGaming Summit Isle of Man 2014, visit www.kpmg.com/im and search for ‘KPMG eGaming Summit 2014’.
