On planet Earth, men are usually the ones who are known to be the most arrogant. This goes to explain why those in the Isle named after the bearded kind are championing their gambling industry. Isle of Man Today reports that a survey on the island estimates that the sector grew by 24% in 2010. Those surveyed added that it would grow by another 8% this year.
The news comes in the wake of the Black Friday indictments that have rocked parts of the iGaming industry to their very core. One of those indicted, PokerStars, employs 250 staff on the island. Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission has already vowed to investigate.
Manx eGaming Association’s (MeGA) annual survey was completed alongside a survey of the e-business sector conducted by PKF on behalf of the Department of Economic Development. Financial Data obtained was compared to that from previous years in order to find out certain figures.
The “tax take” that includes income tax, national insurance and gaming duties fose by 36% in 2010 to £15.2m.
John Webster, chairman of MeGA, said: ‘”These survey results show another robust performance by the e-gaming sector on the Isle of Man. Tax revenues are generated for the Treasury, job opportunities are being created and the industry’s demand for top-class software, telecommunications and other support services has significantly improved the quality of the island’s business environment; the e-gaming sector has thus acted as a catalyst for companies with similar exacting requirements to consider locating on the Isle of Man.”
So could it be too soon for the island to declare that next year will see more growth? The projection of 8% for 2011 is probably realistic enough seeing as PokerStars employs a sizeable chunk of the 645 that work in the gaming industry. Should PokerStars continue to lose out, then those on the island may have to rethink their predictions. The mature stage that the market has now reached means the PokerStars case won’t be that damaging. Were the market on the island not so mature it could be a lot different.
