An iGaming executive banned by the Isle of Man is bidding to overturn the decision.
Phua Cheng Wan, the owner of Boldwood Software, is currently subject to an indefinite prohibition order set out by the island’s Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) in July.
The commission concluded that Wan was associated with “bad actors” following an investigation into whether he was a fit and proper person to be a licence holder.
However, his representatives have claimed that new information has come to light, leading him to seek to overturn the decision and set aside a settlement agreement he signed at the time when the ban was put into place.
Media reports in Singapore have previously linked Wan to members of a group convicted of money laundering and running an illegal gambling scheme.
Charges laid against Cypriot national Wang Dehai in June 2024 claimed that Wan applied for employment passes on behalf of Dehai through his company, Craft Digital.
However, it is important to note that while the GSC’s investigation established that there was “evidence of association with criminal elements”, Wan has never been convicted of any offences himself.
His company, a platform provider for the iGaming industry, was licensed in the Isle of Man from November 2022 until May of this year, when it surrendered its licence after the GSC served notice and an enforcement report on the company.
Little appetite for Southeast Asia
The Isle of Man has repeatedly cautioned against working with businesses or ownership figures linked to East and Southeast Asia.
According to the island’s National Risk Appetite Statement, released by Digital Isle of Man, there is “limited appetite” for iGaming businesses in the region due to the threat of “criminal infiltration”.
The report stated: “The Isle of Man recognises that, in common with other jurisdictions, its online gaming and gambling platforms may be targeted by an evolving and increasingly complex and sophisticated criminal landscape in East and Southeast Asia.
“That landscape has extended outside of East and Southeast Asia, impacting countries worldwide, and there has become a need for increasing vigilance when conducting business linked to this region. Sources available to the domestic authorities indicate that the Isle of Man has been subject to infiltration by criminals bypassing the Island’s controls against financial crime.”
More recently, high-profile sanctions of the Cambodian conglomerate Prince Group and its owner, Chen Zhi, by UK and US authorities have further highlighted the dangers posed by criminal organisations in the region.
The group has been accused of using disused casinos to run scam operations that have manipulated victims out of billions of dollars.
