Isle of Man: Stability, cost-effectiveness & world class infrastructure

Continent 8 Technologies is trusted by many of the world’s biggest eGaming brands to provide market defining managed hosting, connectivity and security solutions globally. It is an award-winning multi-jurisdictional provider with interconnected data centres and a carrier-grade network connecting 60+ locations across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Operating for over 20 years and headquartered in the Isle of Man for the past 14 years, the global ISP has a firmly established local and international profile, and is a strong ambassador for the Island. The company can speak from first-hand experience about the most important factors which have given the Isle of Man a competitive advantage.

David Black, Continent 8’s Managing Director for EMEA, explains the top 3 factors behind the Island’s success in becoming a jurisdiction of choice for many eGaming companies.

Stability

The Isle of Man’s reputation as an economically and politically stable international business centre is well known and independently lauded. In an era when the normal operation of business is at risk from natural disasters, crime, terrorism and pandemics, it’s worth remembering that for decades the Isle of Man has been rated by many independent organisations as an exceptionally low risk jurisdiction. Throughout its 40 year history as an international business centre it has successfully navigated a safe path through every global crisis. In recent months the Island’s international reputation for resilience has been further enhanced by its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The fact that it has handled the dreadful impact of the global pandemic better than many major economies has been widely reported by respected international news media channels, including The Times in the UK. 

In the context of the eGaming sector, stability is also ensured by a robust but pragmatic regulatory framework with a commitment to player protection, the availability of excellent DR solutions, plus resilient power, telecoms and data centre infrastructure.

Cost-effectiveness

In considering a home for your gaming business there are a whole range of indicators for the inward investor. The Isle of Man continues to score very well in terms of business set up (not least for telecommunication costs) but also for ongoing economic and lifestyle advantages. For businesses that choose to hold dual licences or take advantage of the Island’s disaster recovery regulation, that’s a cost-effective option too – plus there’s the added advantage that the Isle of Man licensing process is fast with a turnaround in only 10 to 12 weeks (other jurisdictions can take 6 to 12 months).

World class infrastructure & eGaming ecosystem

The Isle of Man’s world class power and telecoms infrastructure delivers highly resilient bandwidth connectivity through six data centres (including Continent 8’s own globally interconnected data centre in the Island’s capital). Isle of Man Government is committed to investing in ultrafast fibre broadband (FTTP) as part of its telecoms strategy. Currently, 35% of premises have access to FTTP with speeds of up to 1Gbps, and there is an aggressive roadmap to reach 99% availability within the next four years. The strategy also puts plans in place to prepare the Island for the roll-out of 5G.

As a centre of excellence for eGaming, the Island has attracted not only many of the world’s leading casino and poker businesses, but also specialists software developers, legal firms, finance companies, and other ancillary businesses that collectively form an ecosystem which encourages partnership and innovation. A great recent example of how that works in practice is Continent 8’s client KKPoker which is a unique start-up club-based poker platform. KKPoker is a registered brand owned by Isle of Man-based business AceKing IOM Limited which is regulated and licensed on the Island too. Continent 8 was the first and best choice for KKPoker as their hosting provider because we have a perfect combination of local and global expertise, experience, and infrastructure to facilitate international growth.

Summing up

Based on Continent 8’s extensive experience in eGaming over the past two decades, the factors above are the main drivers behind the Isle of Man’s worldwide reputation as a trusted and respected jurisdiction (a reputation supported by winning many awards, including the recently announced 2020 International Investment Award for the Best International Finance Centre). From Continent 8’s view of the global sector, holding an Isle of Man licence – either as a primary or secondary licence – reflects positively on any business, and combines ongoing stability with an entrepreneurial flair ideal for fast moving sectors.

Click here to find out more about licensing or data hosting in the Isle of Man.