Earlier this week, the Isle of Man Government announced that it would amend its gambling regulations so as to allow e-Gaming companies to manage their non-gambling operations out of the Isle of Man without requiring a gambling license under the Online Gambling Regulation Act (OGRA).

Under these amendments, e-Gaming companies will no longer need a license for activities such as marketing, administration, software downloads, customer support and relay servers. This is a significant move as it means operators can now base such activities which are critical to support the industry in the same jurisdiction.

Companies will still be required, however, to secure a license for their core business activities such as striking the bet and player fund activity.

About the Isle of Man
e-Gaming was legalized by the Isle of Man early in the previous decade, with the passing of two laws - the Electronic Transactions Act of 2000 and the Online Gambling Regulation Act of 2001.

Online gambling operators quickly obtained licenses from the country, only to see a turn of events follow; no gaming operators held a license from the island by 2003.

Today, licensing is once again obtainable. They are overseen by the Department of Trade and Industry.