In his recent State of the Nation address, Chief Minister Howard Quayle reported annual growth of 3.6% in the island’s economy.

He also confirmed that the e-gaming sector, along with the wider digital industry, is a major contributor to this growth with digital businesses combined now representing just over 30% of GDP in total.

These statistics are impressive whichever way you look at them - and all the more so given that the digital sector is still a relatively young one.

Today the Isle of Man is building on this success with a strategy to support and diversify the sector further, and a focus on other digital business, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence, to complement the island’s digital offering.

So what is it about the Isle of Man that has led to it becoming a top tier jurisdiction, attracting some of the biggest names in e-gaming and some of the industry’s most innovative companies? Digital Matters asked five top executives what made them choose the Isle of Man as the place to be.

Quentin Martin

Quentin Martin is chief operating officer of Luckbox, an esports betting business established in the Isle of Man in 2016.

’On a personal level, the attraction of the Isle of Man has got to be the quality of life, whether that’s the view from my window, the length of the daily commute or the greenery that’s all around us - I can get out into nature straight after work. From a business perspective, we really value the fantastic Isle of Man licence.

’We are also fortunate to work very closely with the local Gambling Commission and the Department for Enterprise and are able to get grant funding and assistance in that way which is invaluable for a new company.’

Adam Beighton

While Adam Beighton, director of Sportpesa, has lived in the Isle of Man since childhood, he says there were a number of outstanding factors that made the company choose the island when moving from its African roots.

’The owners were struggling to make a decision and had looked at a minimum of 15 different jurisdictions by the time I got involved and there were more to see, including both the Isle of Man and Jersey. At that point, Jersey was just coming in with a new licensing regime so, after showing them first-hand what both islands had to offer, coupled with all the research the shareholders had already undertaken, the Isle of Man very quickly became a foregone conclusion.

’A lot of that had to the do with the experience of the regulator and the length of time they had been operating in the industry. Subsequently as an operator here, we’ve found the Isle of Man Government very supportive. We have direct access to the people we need to be talking to and that is really a fundamental benefit of being here.

’Not only do you have that direct access, you also get listened to. We’ve found that if there is something we need as a business, a lot of the time it can be made to happen.’

Mark Robson

Mark Robson is chief executive officer of King Gaming, an Asian-facing gaming company that’s been in the Isle of Man for two and a half years.

’One of the best things about the Isle of Man is that you can be at the forefront of a fast-paced industry such as e-gaming, yet enjoy a relaxed lifestyle and clean air.

’If we want to immerse ourselves in the madness of big cities, we can just jump on a flight but we don’t have to stay there - we can get back here!

’And while it is easy to get to the big cities, you don’t need to go there to get experts.

’A cluster has formed on the Isle of Man so expertise is just around the corner - you can meet someone for a coffee and it’s job done.

’This ability of the Isle of Man to create the right environment for businesses to do business has been most beneficial for us as an organisation.

’We have access to corporate service providers, legal advice, finance - all these experts are located in a very small area on the Isle of Man. Government has assisted us by building that environment for complementary sectors to be close to us.’

Ty Smith

Director and designated official of Ableton Prestige Global, Ty Smith was a former director of the Isle of Man’s Gambling Supervision Commission.

’On a personal level, the main benefit of being on the island are the environmental benefits.

’There are very few better places in the world to bring up children and have a family life.

’What the Isle of Man does particularly well is balance all the positives you can get from such an environment while at the same time providing opportunity.

’It really gives our current and future generations a chance to achieve their dreams and objectives.

’From a business point of view, the main driver for Ableton Prestige Global coming to the Isle of Man was that it is a Tier 1 regulated jurisdiction.

’There are less well-regulated jurisdictions in the e-gaming world so there is a certain prestige in the acquiring of an Isle of Man licence, which conveys trust to our end customers.

A trustworthy operating environment was also a hugely important factor.

’The business wanted to have confidence in its suppliers, the services they were going to provide and also the way in which those contracts and services executed.

’Our company had very early interaction with the Department for Enterprise during their "jurisdiction shopping" phase, and I think the way that the department’s e-gaming team handled those queries was really useful and gave a lot of confidence.

’It allowed them to sense-check some of the information they were getting from the private sector. The contacts the department were able to open up for the business was really valuable, along with the financial assistance schemes in place. I think it all ties back to the notion of creating that positive business environment or, qualification of government’s tagline, making the island "a special place to live and work." ’

Magnus Grinneback

Magnus Grinneback is chief executive of Mayfly Entertainment which was established in 2015.

He has lived in the island since May 2018.

He has more than 10 years’ experience in the gaming industry and has worked in both European and Asian jurisdictions.

’We were looking at several jurisdictions when we were deciding where to establish our company and what made us choose the Isle of Man was the combination of access to banking, a reputable regulator, a strong technology infrastructure and knowledgeable CSPs that could help us to get everything up and running.

’For us it was not any single factor that mattered, and we felt that with the Isle of Man we got a good balance with all factors being at a good level.

’There are many things I appreciate with living on the island and after spending a large part of the last decade in large cities in Asia I have come to appreciate the clean air, the tidy streets, the very short commute, the lack of crime, the locally grown food and the silence at night a lot.

Personally, I love the fact that I can be in a video conference with our offices in different parts of the world and then five minutes later I can be on a lunch time run along Marine drive with incredible sea views and the chance to spot whales and other marine life.

’Combining a rural lifestyle with a job that is highly international and in a fast-paced sector is something that works really well for me and something that I think is unique.’