A consultation sent out over the summer asked digitally-related and financial services businesses whether they thought e-gaming should have a future in Jersey.
The conclusions from that consultation – which were not made public – are due to be published later this month.
In addition, Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham is proposing that two former financial services regulators should be appointed a year early to the Jersey Gambling Commission – the independent body set up by the States to regulate all gambling activity in the Island.
Advocate Cyril Whelan, a former commissioner at Jersey Financial Services Commission and a distinguished States law officer, has been selected by the Jersey Appointments Commission to take over as commissioner and deputy chairman at the Gambling Commission, and Debbie Sebire, also an experienced JFSC regulator and currently a member at the Jersey Police Complaints Authority, has also been selected.
Both Advocate Whelan and Ms Sebire will be taking over from existing commissioners who have served two terms of office and therefore cannot be reselected.
However, the new post-holders will be starting a year earlier, as the current commissioners are not due to stand down until October next year.
According to a source, questions have been raised about reputational damage to the Island from association with e-gaming sites of dubious quality that appear to encourage gambling addiction.
Asked about the reasons behind the consultation, Senator Farnham said that the Council of Ministers, and not his department, were taking the lead.
‘We want to make sure that the policy is sensible and that we fully understand the risks that accompany certain aspects of the industry,’ he said.
However, at least one Island businessman says he is concerned that if the ministers change the policy, he will either lose business or have to move elsewhere.
Steve Hickson, a director of E-scape Interactive in Hill Street, has been taking on more staff for a game development subsidiary, Sideplay Entertainment, which provides games for the National Lottery in the UK.
Mr Hickson’s company, which employs up to 30 people in total, also provides software and digital marketing, and has developed a new lottery ‘platform’, twelve40, which was the first company to be granted a remote operator’s licence by the Jersey Gambling Commission.
Mr Hickson said: ‘In the Isle of Man, gaming is well-established and produces about £690 million, which is 17 per cent of their GDP, so if we could have a proportion of that it would be great for the Jersey economy.
There are probably about ten companies here that are interested, of which we are the most active employer.
‘But gambling is traditionally perceived as a bad thing with bad associations.
‘The fact is that we have very good legislation in place that is not allowing businesses to act in an illegal manner, and a regulator in place who sets the bar.
‘You have to jump very high to gain a licence in Jersey, including a process to deal with any problem gambling.’
Earlier this year the Jersey Innovation Fund agreed to make a £400,000 grant to the company to develop the Sideplay business.
‘We have been supplying games to Camelot in the UK for 12 years now and we had the opportunity to provide content to other lottery organisations in the United States and to big gaming operators,’ Mr Hickson explained, ‘but you have to ramp up quite quickly to capitalise on that potential.
‘The way I view it, this is an opportunity for Jersey to diversify the economy.
‘We’re already proving that we’ve got the opportunity, and lots of inquiries, and we’re already employing local resources.’
Mr Hickson said he was hopeful that the responses to the consultation from Digital Jersey and others in the industry would be positive in terms of his business.
‘If not, we might have to take our business elsewhere, or close down,’ he said.
