Bosses of an online gambling company with more than 20 million customers are delighted that they set up an important hub in the island.

Gaming and technology giant SportPesa has been raising its profile and sees the Isle of Man as a winning factor as it seeks to expand in new global markets.

Director Adam Beighton, 43, who has lived in the island for most of his life, told Business News how he helped Sport Pesa decide to start an office in the Isle of Man, winning over rivals such as the Channel Islands, Gibraltar and Malta.

Asked how important the island is for Sport Pesa Mr Beighton said: ‘The Isle of Man is an extremely important hub for us.

‘Our gambling brand is primarily aimed at making sure that responsible gambling is the number one priority.

‘And for us we just want to put the fun back into gambling.

‘We want people to come (to our product) and have a bit of fun.’

And he said that with the support of the island’s regulators SportPesa could go to other jurisdictions to expand.

‘The governments in those places can be comfortable with the fact that we are operating out of a well-regulated jurisdiction.’

He said SportPesa was proud to be one of around 30 companies that currently have licences with the Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) in the island.

Mr Beighton lives in the north of the island with his partner Sian, they are engaged to marry and have a 10-month -old son called Neo.

He came over to live in the island as a lad with his parents and loves it, embracing island life to the full. He went to King William’s and then Ramsey Grammar. His hobbies include sailing.

His links with online gaming began when he worked for a company involved in business advisory services.

He said: ‘We were looking to see if there was any angle to see if we could support the e-gaming and online gambling world.

‘After that there was a bit of a natural flow and while at an e-gaming show in Berlin I met the Sport Pesa team.

‘They were a year into their business and looking to find thmselves a hub for online gambling.

‘It would either be the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands or Malta, or Gibraltar. They were in the process of finding a home that was the best place for them.

‘So I brought them over to the Isle of Man. And we set them up as a business over here and we now have our own regulatory hub here in the island.’

He joined SportPesa as a director and now the 15-strong island team occupy an office in Ridgeway Street, Douglas.

There is also an office in the Liver Building in Liverpool ‘just across the water, where we have space for around 150 people’.

Mr Beighton said: ‘The Isle of Man regulator, the Gambling Supervision Commission, and other government departments, especially the Department for Enterprise, have been very supportive in helping us as a business, to establish ourselves on the island. Globally we have around 700 staff and we are licensed to operate in Italy, Isle of Man, UK, Ireland,Kenya,Tanzania and South Africa.’

SportPesa is probably the leading brand in Africa now for e-gaming. The company was founded in Kenya and Pesa is in fact Swahili for money.

He said:‘Essentially it started as a technology company. They have done some amazing stuff in Africa.’

The company was recently involved in sponsorship at the important May meeting at Chester Races, which was popular with many Manx punters.

And in the football world clubs such as Everton and Hull City wear SportPesa shirts.

Mr Beighton said betting on football is particularly big in Africa.

Mr Beighton spoke to Business News at the Isle of Man Motor Museum in Jurby during TT practice week.

He was there to oversee the arrival of SportPesa’s real-life F1 car simulator. It is based on the company’s partnership with the UK-based Racing Point team. The simulator will be in action at the museum throughout the TT Festival and will in fact be there until June 17. Then in July it will be at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll are the two drivers who compete for the SportPesa Racing Point F1 team in F1 at circuits across the world.

Visitors to the Isle of Man Motor Museum were delighted to try out the ‘car.’

Mr Beighton told Business News: ‘As everyone knows, the island’s history with motorsport is pretty much unrivalled so what better place to bring our F1 Simulator than the excellent Isle of Man Motor Museum.

‘We really hope that as many people as possible come out to enjoy this as it’s only here until June 17.’

Reinforcing his comments about the island’s SportPesa workers, he said: ‘Myself, and the rest of my team here in the island are thrilled to be established here and by interacting with the great people here, we hope we can strengthen our position here and continue to provide more exciting opportunities.’ Darren Cunningham, director of the museum said: ‘It’s great to have the SportPesa Racing Point team F1 Simulator here for TT and I’m sure all of our visitors will enjoy the fantastic experience.’

Manx Telecom has been supporting Sport Pesa.

Cathy Collins, MT’s head of brand and marketing communications, told Business News: ‘We’re delighted to be supporting this fantastic attraction.

‘F1 is all about speed, and speed is equally important for our mobile and broadband customers.

‘For motorsport fans wanting 4G or superfast fibre broadband, the simulator is a reminder that we’ve got the speed they need during the TT and all year round.’