Isle Of Man: the end of a dream for King Gaming

Garance Limouzy July 24, 2024

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Isle Of Man: the end of a dream for King Gaming

The Isle of Man regulator, GSC, has announced today (July 24) its decision to ban King Gaming Ltd. and Dalmine Ltd, both related to Jade Tree Ltd.

Both were licensed by the Isle of Man https://www.larryutley.com/news/isle-of-mans-gambling-supervision-commission-looking-for-a-new-head/ Gambling Supervision Commission. However, the commission decided to cancel their gambling licenses with immediate effect.

Criminal investigation

Two months ago, on April 24, the GSC announced the suspension of both operators’ licenses due to an ongoing criminal investigation. The police had launched inquiries into fraud, money laundering, and immigration violations. During the investigation, police raided King Gaming’s offices on the island, resulting in the arrest of seven employees. Dalmine Ltd., the company’s B2B branch, and Soteria, a crypto firm connected to the company, were also placed under investigation.

The largest ever single private investment on the Isle of Man

The company had plans to expand and build an ultra-modern HQ campus on the island, which the media called the ‘largest ever single private investment on the Isle of Man’. The new building was intended to relocate over a hundred employees from Asia. This project was to symbolise the company’s success and commitment to the island and would have been composed of “10,000m2 mixed-use commercial building providing grade-A office accommodation, restaurants, wellness, VIP/Hospitality and penthouses together with 66 apartments in two accommodation blocks all set in a naturalised parkland setting”. However, the source of the company’s funding remains unclear. Dalmine Ltd. for instance is reported to have had only one customer, a website that attracted fewer than 2,000 visitors per month.

*A computer rendering of King Gaming’s HQ plans – Excel Group Architecture.*

Ensuring safe gambling

The regulator declared that this decision was motivated by section 5-2 of the Gambling Supervision Act of 2010, which states:

“The regulatory objectives are:

ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way
protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling
preventing gambling from being: a source of crime or disorder; associated with crime or disorder; or used to support crime.”