09 May 2025: What does the IOM GSC Regulate?
As the Isle of Man’s gambling regulator, the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) is responsible for market entry and providing regulatory oversight of the gambling sector, supervising Licence Holders compliance with legislation such as the Gambling Acts and the Gambling (Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism) Code 2019 (the Code).
What does the Isle of Man GSC Regulate?
The Gambling Supervision Commission has the power and authority to issue approvals for market entry and to supervise the local gambling sector. This power exists in the event that the gambling activity occurs on the Isle of Man. In the case of land-based gambling activity, the GSC powers include anything happening within our jurisdictional limits. For online gambling, the bet or game activity is facilitated using telecommunication devices located within the jurisdiction (computers, servers, phones, etc) to register a customer, offer and strike the bet.
Types of gambling overseen by the GSC are varied and may include sports betting, wagering on horse racing, managing or promoting a lottery for private or charitable gain, playing table games such as poker and roulette or using online or physical slot machines or amusement machines.
What non-gambling activity does the GSC oversee?
Licensing and supervision are also undertaken on certain businesses providing software systems and games platforms to other gambling businesses, and there are exclusions for other types of gambling-related business. For those providing access to back-office systems and services based on servers in the Isle of Man, which facilitate gambling activity, they must be licensed and supervised. Companies that provide only software to other companies can choose to be licensed and supervised in order to have games approved to provide directly to an Isle of Man licensed company.
Companies that may provide services to gambling companies or exist within the same group structure as licensed entities will not be subject to regulatory oversight under the GSC’s legislation; however, such companies may be scrutinised as part of entry control and ongoing monitoring and investigations. Exemptions to licensing and oversight include the provision of IT services (where it does not register players, offer or strike the bet), administrative services, web design, software design (with the exception noted previously), call centres and support centres, hosting disaster recovery services and providing relay servers.
What about gambling based off-island?
As an Isle of Man resident, you may have an account with an online gambling provider based in another jurisdiction, this is permissible under Manx law; however will be subject to the rules in that country. This includes betting and gaming as well as taking part in national lotteries, prize, promotional and competition draws such as house and car lotteries and fundraising lotteries. These lotteries are very popular and growing, but customers must take care to ensure that any such draw is well-regulated and therefore safe to take part in. For instance, the UK National Lottery is available for Manx residents under local legislation and is regulated and overseen by the United Kingdom’s regulatory body, the Gambling Commission. The UK Commission sets good standards and controls and monitors and oversees those controls, keeping customers safe, ensuring they are treated fairly and imposing an AML/CFT regime.
Some countries may restrict residents outside of their jurisdiction from accessing gambling, and some operators themselves may choose to prohibit certain jurisdictions. The business offering the activity will be regulated by the competent authority in that jurisdiction if one exists and they may offer a complaints process to deal with any concerns.
It is important to be able to enjoy the platform safely to check if the business you are interacting with is well-regulated and supervised. Most regulators require that sites include a link on the website to the regulatory information and licensed status. Regulators' websites will list those businesses that are authorised to offer gambling. Anyone looking to take part in gambling based outside of the Isle of Man, either land-based or online, should be wary of sites that do not provide clear regulatory information, perform standard AML/CFT checks or that do not provide controls and links to support around responsible gambling.
The GSC co-operates with other regulators, sports betting integrity units and competent authorities nationally and internationally and can assist in passing on information about gambling to the relevant authority. However, the GSC cannot supervise, investigate or enforce against bodies offering gambling outside of the Isle of Man.
Illegal Gambling
An enforcement and investigation framework exists to give the GSC powers to sanction not only non-compliance but also illegal gambling that is offered on island without approval and oversight from the GSC.
Illegal gambling is a serious offence, and it can be a source of great harm to individuals and communities where there is a lack of responsible gambling oversight, good governance, AML/CFT controls and fair practice. Under international standards there is a defined risk unregulated or poorly controlled gambling businesses can be mis-used to legitimise proceeds and of crime, assisting criminals to profit from activity such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, wildlife and environmental crimes, modern slavery and cybercrime.
If you are unsure whether a business is regulated by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, you can find a full list of Licence Holders on our website, as well as a list of those who are no longer licensed under the GSC.
If you have information about suspected illegal gambling or suspicious or potentially harmful activity that may be gambling or related to it then please contact us directly using the whistleblowing contact details on our website or by visiting our office.
How do I raise a concern?
As a customer of an Isle of Man licensed or approved business, the GSC has a complaints process in place. In order to raise a concern about a GSC Licence Holder, there is a form available on our website, or you can visit our office in order to talk to someone in confidence.
For businesses or individuals that provide services to the gambling industry, you may come across something of concern. Businesses in regulated sectors will be aware that they can use reporting mechanisms to report suspicion or unusual activity in relation to suspected money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions and proliferation to relevant authorities.
Any other concerns should be reported to the GSC who will use their powers to conduct an investigation or pass on information to law enforcement or other relevant agencies. See our Whistleblowing Guidance page for more information on raising a concern.
Useful links & Further information regarding GSC Licence Holders
For those who wish to ascertain if a business is licensed by the GSC, an up-to-date register of Licence Holders (with permitted domains where appropriate) is available on the GSC website.
View our whistleblowing information page to learn more about how to contact the GSC in event of suspicious activity from an Operator.
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