Online gaming companies face a threat from increasing regulations, gambling experts told a conference in the island.

They were speaking as part of a panel discussion on ’international regulatory creep’ - a term used to describe the growing influence of regulations and rules facing companies in the online gaming industry.

It formed part of the first online gaming conference organised by island legal firm Mann Benham and held at the Sefton Hotel, Douglas.

Celton Manx chief Bill Mummery chaired the panel and firstly stressed it was right to acknowledge that here in the island ’we have benefited’ from the island’s own regulatory body, the Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC).

He said the GSC had helped the island’s online gaming industry to develop ’significantly’.

But he added: ’However my contention is that there is a real danger of ’’international regulatory creep’’ which is potentially extremely damaging for our industry.

’We can deal with the individual challenges as they come along but the collective nature of this force, I think, does represent a real threat to us.’

Globally recognised gambling analyst Warwick Bartlett, based in Castletown, said there had been 42 changes in regulation internationally ’that have been detrimental to the industry over the last 18 months’.

He told of countries actually deciding to ban some forms of gambling having previously legalised it.

There had been ’negative’ tax developments, he contended.

He pointed to the fact that remote gaming duty - that affects many island-based online gaming firms - was increasing from 15% to 21% from this month (October).

Mr Bartlett, chief executive at GBGC (Global Betting and Gaming Consultants) said there was good reason to ask why this ’creeping’ regulation was going on.

He pointed to the UK’s 2005 Gambling Act and said the rest of the world looks to the British Isles for guidance on regulation and gambling ’because we were the first and we have pretty much a free market’.

Mr Bartlett said that in the wake of the 2005 Act the thought was that technology was changing so much that the act ’had to be fluid as possible’ and that ’the regulators could change to adapt to the circumstances’.

This could be seen as a good thing but he argued that because they can change the regulation it also means they come under the influence of the media over various gambling issues.

He said: ’There are detractors to the gambling industry and as the values have improved for the customer (in the shape of winnings), the customer is, in turn, gambling more and the media does not like that.

’We’ve had campaigns from the BBC, the Daily Mail, the Guardian, the Times, in fact much of the mainstream media appears to be opposed to the amount of gambling that is taking place.

’The rest of the world is watching this, not liking what they see and are introducing regulation pretty much the same.’

Mr Bartlett claimed one of the problems facing the industry was that in the UK the industry is regulated by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

He said: ’Last night I was watching a recording of the ITV drama series Deep Water and one of the leading characters was an addictive gambler who loses all of a family’s money.

’Ten years ago it would have been an alcoholic, now it is an addictive gambler.’

Sam Nati, director and chief operating officer of Premier Gateway International (PGI), a licensed totalisator, operating from the Isle of Man since 2006, was also on the panel. Mr Nati pointed out an anecdote that he said supported the ’anti-gambling sentiment’ that Mr Bartlett had been talking about. He said that the singer Taylor Swift had been engaged to perform at this year’s Melbourne Cup in Australia.

But following a ’backlash’ on social media she withdrew from the initial obligation of taking part and performing at the famous Aussie race meeting.

Garth Kimber, island- based director of gaming business TGP Holdings, told the conference that his perspective was one of ’confusion’ because the rules had changed.

And he said it was becoming harder and harder to know what the rules were.

He said that from the Isle of Man perspective the pressure was coming from the UK.