News: Casinos on the Isle of Man will be able to accept cryptocurrencies

Casinos on the Isle of Man will be able to accept cryptocurrencies

In 2017,  legislative changes that demonstrate a loyal attitude to the market of cryptocurrencies were approved on the Isle of Man. According to the draft law "Guidance for On-line Gambling", holders of licenses for gambling business are entitled to accept bets in the form of cryptocurrencies.

The law came into force on May 19, 2017, and the first company has already obtained an official permission to use virtual money as bets. It is the Quanta Technology Limited that is the platform which successfully integrated the blockchain system into its lottery, and participation in the above was purchased for Ethereum.

Legislative terms and conditions for obtaining a license

To obtain a license, it is necessary to meet the following requirements:

• business should be carried out by a company registered on the Isle of Man;

• the company must have at least two resident directors;

• it is required to open a bank account on the Isle of Man;

• the servers on which bets are placed are to be located on the Isle of Man;

• players must be registered on the servers of the Isle of Man.

To obtain permission to use cryptocurrency in gambling, it is necessary to:

• register a company on the Isle of Man;

• select the type of license;

• fill in certain registration forms;

• pay a mandatory administrative fee of 5,000 pounds;

• send the material and electronic copies of the required documents to the registrar.

The licensing process will take from 10 to 12 weeks from the receipt of the notification from the commission that the application has been accepted. You can find out information on the means of submitting application during consultation with Law&Trust International.

Forms of licensing of gambling business on the Isle of Man

Full license

A large-scale business in the field of gambling will require an OGRA-license. It gives the right to use the entire spectrum of gambling. Its cost is 35,000 pounds per year, and the license is valid for five years.

Operators with a full license can offer technologies (games, software) to sub-licensees. The OGRA extends to all parts of the business at the holder level and below. However, it can not work "up" to cover the gambling activities of the "parent" or "sideward" to cover the operations of subsidiaries.

Network Services License

It is necessary for the operator who wants to allow foreign registered players access to its server without providing additional information. Also, this license includes all the benefits of a full license.

Sublicense

An entrepreneur who tends to use the games of a network operator must obtain a sublicense. The only disadvantage is that the holder of sublicense can only use the games of its network operator.

If the entrepreneur uses the games of another network or creates his own, he will need an extension to the OGRA. Thus, acquiring a sublicense, you can only conduct business with the software of the holder of the primary license.

The cost of a gambling license on the Isle of Man

The price is made up of a mandatory payment (5,000 pounds) and additional costs provided for under a specific license form:

• £ 50,000 per year for Network Services license;

• £ 35,000 per year for a full license;

• £5,000 per year for sublicense.

Current tax rates

Taxes on business in the gambling industry of the Isle of Man are calculated as follows:

• for a total gaming profitability of not more than $20 million a year = 1.5%;

• for a gross-game profitability of more than 20 million, but not more than 40 million a year = 0.5%;

• for the total profitability of games, exceeding $40 million a year = 0.1%.

The above information is reliable and is confirmed by official sources of the Isle of Man. For additional advice on licensing gambling business, please contact the lawyers of Law&Trust International.