Proposed Compliance Document Package & background for Isle of Man Gaming Jurisdiction

Basic Requirements

Logispin will need to be at least related to a Company incorporated in the Isle of Man fopr the purpose of offering eGaming services.

Logispin’s servers for eGaming services will need to be hosted in the Isle of Man, presuming that Logispin is to be a Eurobet-style online gaming provider.

Q : what happens if Logspin is a provider of electronic games to other service providers?

The Banking of Logispin’s operational and gaming funds must be carried out in the Isle of Man.

At least two of Logispin’s Directors will need to be resident in the Isle of Man, plus either a resident Designated Official of Operations Manager

IoM Regulatory Authority

Electronic gaming in general is governed at the top level by the IoM Government’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The specific regulatory body is the Gaming Supervisor Commission (GSC) within the IoM DTI.  This is the body for whom all Compliance documentation must be prepared and one presumes will be conducting all audits of Logispin’s business and e-gaming processes.

The governing legislation is the Online Gaming Regulation Act 2001 (or OGRA for short).

The IoM Regulatory Officials are seconded from the IoM Treasury and comprise : a Director, a Policy Officer, five Gaming Inspectors and two Secretaries.

IoM E-Gaming Regulations

The requirements of the OGRA 2001 are implemented through the following Regulations. It therefore follows that all compliance-related documents and the Company processes that they chronicle will need to meet the requirements of these Regulations.

Online Gambling Duty Regulation 2007
Online Gambling (Advertising) Regulations 2007
Online Gambling (Prescribed Descriptions) Regulations 2007
Online Gambling (Advertising) (Overseas) Regulations 2007
Online Gambling (System Verification) (no. 2) Regulations 2007
Online Gambling (Betting and Miscellaneous Provision) Regulations 2007
Online Gambling (Disaster Recovery( No. 2) Regulations 2007
Online Gambling (Registration and Accounts) Regulations 2008
Online Gambling (Licence Fee) Regulations 2009
Online Gambling (Exclusions) Regulations 2010

Applicable Licence Provisions

•	If Logispin is a Gala Coral/Eurobet-style eGaming operation, a full IoM Licence will definitely be required.
•	If Logispin is to offer Spread Betting, a formal application will have to be made to the IoM Financial Supervision Commission.
•	No separate OGRA Licence will be required for play-for-fun.
•	A further check will need to be made on the licensing of Online Poker - if the Logispin offering is purely ‘game of skill’ (no RNG) - an OGRA licence provision will not be required.
•	Ensure that Logispin’s IoM Licence specifically covers marketing of it’s eGaming offering.  IoM Licence guidance say this is not needed, but best to make sure.
•	Website and software design do not need an IoM licence, so one presumes that these activities can carry on in the UK as normal.
•	The provision of IT services that comprise the Logispin offering : game offering, player registration, RNG and bet management will require an IoM Licence.
•	Player Fund Protection is covered by the IoM Financial Supervision Commission, so will presumable need to be the subject of a Licence from that IoM body.
•	The Logispin RNG will require a what appears to be a separate OGRA Licence and appears to be the subject of a regular specific audit by the IoM GSC.
•	A check will need to be made if Logispin’s IoM servers will act as relay stations for data originating at the West Byfleet data centre.  If these servers will indeed be relays, an IoM OGRA Licence will not be required.  However, this will mean that the West Byfleet data centre will come under the jurisdiction of the UK Gambling Commission.
•	The Logispin BC/DR Plan must take account of IoM Regulatory requirements.

Licence Application

Once the IoM GSC is satisfied that the Application Form is complete and accompanied by the specified Business Plan, Personal Declaration Forms and the £1000 fee, the process will take 10-12 weeks.

The OGRA Licence requested cannot cover Logispin’s holding company or sister companies - these appear to require separate Licences.

Disaster Recovery Service

The DR service for the Logispin operation in the Isle of man will itself require a IoM GSC Licence.

Compliance Document Package

An initial Business Plan document must be prepared and submitted along with the Licence Application Form, Fee and Personal Declaration forms.  This business plan, which appears to require updating to reflect the evolution of the Logispin operation, appears to be composed of the following:-

Financial Accounts
Ownership
Terms & Conditions
Game Rules
Internal Control Systems (cf. AGCC requirements)
Player Protection
Technical Checks on games offered
The business model
Payment schematics
Proposed banking arrangements
Customer due diligence - KYC/CDD and AML/CFT documents required
Website look and feel
Infrastructure checks
Player registration checks
Treasury Services
Transaction recording for games & lotteries
Transaction recording for Sportsbook Betting

The IoM Regulator appears to prefer soft copies of the above documents on WORD format.

However, it would still be best practice to agree a package of documents rather than one large one - remember the GCG experience!  Clearly, KYC/CDD and AML-CFT will need to be separate, but as for the rest, the authors would need to agree which section goes in which document with the IoM GSC.

It must also be borne in mind that:-

•	The IoM GSC will check all the above - and thoroughly!!
•	The checks to be performed are outlined in the Licence Application Guidance document on the IoM GSC website section.
•	The IoM GSC will analyse and approve the initial “go live” procedure - one expects that a similar procedure will be followed for new game releases.
•	The IoM Licence Conditions are at least as tough as the AGCC, even if their expression is less adversarial.
•	The whole Compliance document package will be audited on a regular basis, presumably annually, and the Logispin. Tech. Pubs. effort will need to be organised on such a basis