The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) has imposed a GBP140,000 ($183,000) civil penalty on one of its previous licensees, CyberHorizon Limited, after uncovering several regulatory breaches during an investigation.

These violations include failure to conduct proper customer risk assessments and implement required technology risk evaluations before launch, as well as insufficient enhanced due diligence processes. CyberHorizon was previously called Wow Entertainment and operated the Wow Casino brand. The company was licensed from March 2021 to September 2023, cooperated with the GSC, accepting responsibility, and settling early.

The GSC emphasized the importance of maintaining strict compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations to uphold the Isle of Man’s reputation as a well-regulated jurisdiction. This was the second time this year that the regulator took action, having previously suspended and then cancelled the gambling license of Isle of Man-based King Gaming.

The investigation revealed that CyberHorizon had fallen short in critical areas, including customer relationship cessation after failing to meet due diligence requirements and ensuring data retrieval processes after the cessation of operations.

One of the key factors that led to the investigation was the identification of multiple infractions in a routine inspection in June 2023, which revealed non-compliance with the Gambling (Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism) Code 2019. This prompted the GSC to take immediate regulatory action. Despite the seriousness of the breaches, the GSC acknowledged CyberHorizon’s cooperation and willingness to engage constructively in addressing these issues, which contributed to a 30% reduction in the civil penalty.

The Isle of Man continues to be the primary Tier 1 jurisdiction for companies active in pre-regulated markets but has seen the number of licensees stagnate in recent times. The departure of some big Asian facing names and the King Gaming case, as well as this latest enforcement action will likely have a signaling effect for some companies, while continued uncertainty in jurisdictions like Curacao has benefited the island and seen operators relocate there who are willing to comply with stricter rules in exchange for a politically stable and safe environment.