TITLE: Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission Invites Stakeholder Feedback on Civil Penalties Regulations and Guidance
BODY:
On March 23, 2026, the Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) launched a stakeholder engagement exercise on two draft documents: the Gambling (Civil Penalties) Regulations 2026 and new civil penalty guidance for individuals.
The draft Regulations follow amendments to section 22 of the Gambling (Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism) Act 2018, introduced by the Gambling Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2025. The Regulations establish a framework for how the GSC may impose civil penalties on operators and relevant individuals. They address three key areas: the maximum civil penalty that may be imposed; the factors the GSC must consider when determining penalty amounts on a case-by-case basis; and the process the GSC must follow after deciding to impose a civil penalty, including notice and appeal requirements.
The new civil penalty guidance for individuals represents a significant expansion of the GSC's enforcement powers. Currently, civil penalties apply only to operators. The Amendment Bill extends this power to certain individuals—specifically "controllers", "key persons" and "senior managers"—where an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) contravention by the operator is attributable to that individual's consent, connivance, or negligence. The guidance explains how the GSC will assess individual responsibility, provides examples of how "consent", "connivance" and "negligence" may arise, details penalty calculation methods, and outlines the decision-making process in practice.
The GSC will host an online question and answer session to support stakeholder understanding; full details will be published in due course. Stakeholders may submit feedback via a downloadable PDF form or by emailing Consultations.GSC@gov.im. The consultation period runs from March 23, 2026 to May 25, 2026. Following the consultation, the GSC will publish a summary of responses and outline any resulting changes to the regulations and guidance.