Online in Malta
The small island nation situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea looks intent on continuing to enhance its reputation as one of Europe ’ s top iGaming jurisdictions
By Alan Campbell
Home to approximately 520,000 people , Malta is a small island nation in the Mediterranean Sea that is today widely regarded as one of the world ’ s most safe and secure online gambling jurisdictions .
The country began its journey into the world of licensing iGaming operators and associated software suppliers at the dawn of the new millennium before opting to become a full member of the supranational European Union ( EU ) in May 2004 .
This groundbreaking move meant that online gambling operators and software firms licensed in Malta were initially able to benefit from a process colloquially referred to as “ passporting ” in order to begin offering their wares to aficionados located in any of the then-25 member states of the EU . This impressive European bloc soon grew to encompass three more nations in Croatia , Bulgaria and Romania while subsequently losing the United Kingdom , and currently boasts a combined adult population estimated to sit north of 390 million .
Through its Malta Gaming Authority regulator , the nation now directly licenses approximately 300 firms to supply a wide range of online gambling services and software to stakeholders across the EU . The iGaming entertainment offered by these companies runs the gamut from online casino , livedealer and poker games to sports wagering , daily fantasy and peer-to-peer amusements such as the betting exchanges run by organizations like Betfair .
Russell Mifsud serves as the gaming lead for prominent full-service advisory and accountancy firm KPMG Malta . He says that EU membership proved to be a boon for Malta ’ s iGaming sector despite a number of early roadblocks linked to a range of competition and monopoly concerns from authorities in nations such as Sweden and Germany .
Mifsud says his Valletta-headquartered company liaises with partners from around the world to provide clients with a plethora of insights , strategies and audit activities to best navigate the risks and take advantage of the opportunities in the online gambling ecosystem .
“ The ability to utilize this passporting system coupled with a friendlier tax regime began attracting a large number of iGaming operators to the shores of Malta ,” Mifsud says . “ Malta joined the EU in 2004 , but before this saw an opportunity to begin regulating online gambling .
“ Malta is a little island that largely depends on imports , so it has historically been required to be forward-looking and punch above its weight . Its move into iGaming was a smart way of leveraging its position , and the industry today accounts for approximately 10 percent of the nation ’ s gross domestic product .”
Mifsud asserts that Malta is nowadays widely regarded as the “ iGaming capital of Europe ,” with the nation ’ s Malta Gaming Authority being seen as the gold standard when it comes to regulators in a growing transnational dot-com club that additionally embraces the likes of Gibraltar and the Isle of Man .
He goes on to stress that the authority has remained attractive to online gambling entities looking to provide business-to-business ( B2B ) and business-to-consumer ( B2C ) services across Europe owing to its concentration on diligent rules that encompass preeminent anti-money laundering ( AML ), know-your-customer ( KYC ) and responsible gambling processes alongside fresh voluntary environmental , social and governance ( ESG ) procedures .
“ The parameters have evolved significantly over the past two decades because the industry has similarly advanced ,” Mifsud says . “ The iGaming industry has become really complex to navigate primarily because there is little harmonization in terms of having a unified system across the world .
“ You see this in Europe with nations coming up with their own particular frameworks while the United States treats all of its own states as almost separate countries with their own individual policies , requirements , measures and channelization goals . Nevertheless , Malta is a very attractive jurisdiction because it has the largest number of licensed operators in Europe and sits within the EU , which has allowed it to forge a flourishing ecosystem that can support the industry from a 360-degree perspective .”
30 Global Gaming Business MAY 2023