Digital Isle of Man: "Businesses license with us for our credibility"

As a driving force behind the Isle of Man’s thriving digital economy, Digital Isle of Man plays a pivotal role in fostering innovation, supporting businesses, and strengthening the island’s position as a global hub for iGaming. At ICE Barcelona, one of the gaming industry’s premier events, the organization showcased its commitment to providing a world-class regulatory and business environment for digital enterprises.

In this exclusive interview with Yogonet, Lyle Wraxall, Chief Executive of Digital Isle of Man, and Nathan Lunt, Head of Strategic Partnerships, reflect on their presence at the exhibition, the island’s unique advantages for iGaming companies, and the ongoing efforts to attract and nurture cutting-edge digital businesses.

Can you provide us an overview of what Digital Isle of Man does, for our readers that might not be familiar with its work?

Lyle Wraxall: Digital Isle of Man is responsible for the growth and sustainment of the digital economy on the island. We're part of the Department for Enterprise and a public-private executive agency. We have a board of industry members that help drive us and we report back to the Isle of Man government.

We look at creating the optimal conditions for the Isle of Man tech hub. We have a very renowned gaming sector, as well as a quite mature fintech sector that we support. But we also look a little bit further afield than that at what we call "digital experiences and services," which includes e-sports, web developers, and software developers — all of what completes that digital ecosystem.

Along with that, we've got a few key growth areas that I would like to highlight. We've got AI, which is quite inward-looking, as all countries are looking to support their businesses with AI. We're doing that as well. We create a lot of training and opportunities around AI for our businesses, and we also have a focus on data. Very soon we'll be going out with a global first in the data world.

We also host the annual Innovation Challenge, inviting global companies to submit tech solutions for AI, data, cleantech, and fintech challenges faced on the island and beyond. It is part of our commitment to bring all of these new ideas and innovations to the island. This is going to be our third year running it. And lastly, we're also responsible for infrastructure to broadband data lines off the island, making sure that all of our businesses have access to every kind of technology that they need.

The Isle of Man's regulatory regime is very renowned and respected in the gambling sector. What opportunities does ICE open for the promotion of it?

Lyle Wraxall: We look for the organic growth of our licenses. A big part of what we're doing here is meeting existing clients and license holders. We're not one of those places where you get a license and we forget about you; we're always keeping in touch. We've also got plenty of parties interested in a license at the moment and it's quite a long journey. People move at different paces through that, so we also ensure that we're having the right conversations with them.

Then, of course, having a stand makes sure people are reminded of the Isle of Man. As they walk past, they can get a bit more information they might need. We are backed by our industry, so it's not just the Isle of Man government here. We have that broader tech sector that I mentioned before, meaning everyone from data centers to banks and payment providers is here as well so that people get a better idea of what the Isle of Man can offer them.

Nathan Lunt: We describe ourselves as being a supportive and approachable government. We're here to demonstrate that we're effectively a one-stop shop. You can come onto our stand, and you can talk to every single person that you need to in order to do business in the Isle of Man — doing business in the Isle of Man is easy.

What sets the Isle of Man apart as a jurisdiction for iGaming businesses?

Lyle Wraxall: There are a lot of benefits to coming to the Isle of Man. One of them is the island's expertise. We have a lot of significant businesses in this space and a lot of ancillary businesses that support them, coupled with a really good understanding of the sector, both from a business perspective as well as politically and as a regulator. 

It's a very mature jurisdiction where this is understood, even from a societal aspect as well. There's a major CSR focus in our gaming companies. Gaming supports the society of the Isle of Man as well, and as such, it's a very symbiotic relationship. It works really well together. When businesses come and look at the island, they appreciate that.

Nathan Lunt: We've got a strategic partnership model aimed to support the development and growth of businesses, helping them to tackle any barriers that they may be facing, whether they are easy to fix or complex. The island's focus on private-public collaboration is a major asset: we're there to listen, support and take that feedback. Since we've got direct access to the government, we can get to the highest point to identify needs for change so that we remain that innovative, forward-thinking jurisdiction that businesses are looking for.

We're here to facilitate interactions and make sure that your journey of doing business with the Isle of Man is as smooth as can be. If you face challenges, you can come back to us and we will handhold your business through the process. And that doesn't end once they receive a license.

The strategic partnership acts as twofold. There's a business development function, but also an account management function that is there so that no matter where our on-island businesses are in their journey, they feel they've got a support mechanism around them.

Based on your conversations with iGaming stakeholders, and taking into account this process of working alongside them, what would you say are some of their major current needs?

Nathan Lunt: From a licensing perspective, it would be easier to take your question back — why do people license in the Isle of Man? They license with us for our credibility. They want access to banking and payment providers. They want to be able to deploy content to their websites at a quick pace, where it doesn't prohibit them from being able to do business. And that's what the Isle of Man offers.

We pride ourselves on having a robust regulatory framework. But whilst we expect the highest standards from our operators and software suppliers, they still feel supported through the process by having access to the expertise of the Isle of Man. That's why we can also open doors and facilitate introductions in terms of banking and payment services. We've got here with us Standard Bank and Capital International Bank, both open to the gaming industry. For so long, it was said that banking was a challenge in this sector. I don't think we could make it any easier for businesses.

Lyle, you previously mentioned how the Isle of Man also fosters other sectors, such as AI. Can you tell us a bit more about the overlap between these and iGaming?

Lyle Wraxall: From an AI perspective, what we're doing is quite on-island-focused. We are providing free training to every citizen and every business on the island around AI. We run daily sessions where people can come along. We also have an online offering for those who can't get out of the office to attend or if they prefer to do it at home. 

We also have created a group of partners where we start solving businesses' problems using AI. Not every business understands how AI is going to have an impact on them, so as we go through this program, we'll be looking at how to optimize your workforce and how to prepare for growth using artificial intelligence. That's not limited to digital businesses; we're doing that for every single business on the Isle of Man.

When we look at fintech, we've got quite a broad range of different businesses that we're talking to at the moment. But when you look at the common theme, it's really about helping them understand how they can get their proposition and how we can help them with the regulator, getting them to the point where they are properly regulated and can prove out their products on the Isle of Man.

For example, we had the first GBP-backed stablecoin in the British Isles licensed in the Isle of Man, and that's now gone on to be regulated in the UK and beyond. We act as a springboard for businesses like that to get out to other markets. It's pretty similar in other tech areas. When you get to scale up, it's a great place to start thinking about the partnerships that you need, and where you want to be... The Isle of Man market may not be huge, but what it offers is a parallel to many other areas, so you can truly use it as a springboard.