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Karl Stagno-Navarra
With an estimated turnover of EUR5 billion this year alone, Malta is set to become the European hub of online gaming, with new applications constantly flowing into the Malta Gaming Authority offices that has seen a three-fold increase in revenue and job creation in just under two and a half years.
A survey conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) has revealed that 39 online gaming companies have received a total of Lm719.9 million in placed bets, while a total of Lm611.8 million were the paid wins.
The survey reveals that an estimated Lm107.1 million remained in Malta as the gross generated profit from the companies, from which tax to the Maltese government was paid.
The domino effect that is being generated by this flourishing sector, has created almost 1,200 new jobs, mainly Maltese who are considered to be very efficient and proficient in IT and in accountancy.
With salaries that are known to be much higher than the average, many Maltese who are directly employed or are servicing the betting companies are also being offered excellent job opportunities abroad.
Since the NSO’s last survey in 2005, from the 39 online gaming companies registered in Malta under the Malta Gaming Authority’s (MGA) jurisdiction, the country now hosts 100 fully-licensed companies of this kin, while another 60 are currently undergoing a certification process before being granted a full-operational licence.
Speaking to BusinessToday, MGA Chairman Joe Zammit Maempel explained that the process of licensing an online gaming company in Malta entails strict criteria of due diligence on all the directors holding more than five per cent of company, while viability, fairness and the proposal’s conformity to regulations are acceptable. Detailed studies are also carried out regarding the financials into the proposal.
“Six weeks into this process MGA will issue a letter of intent followed by a six month period to set-up according to the agreed proposal,” he explained, while adding that should there be be no conformity with the details explained the letter of intent will be withdrawn.
Joe Zammit Maempel went on to add that should the criteria be satisfied, MGA inspectors would seal the servers and would allow a period of time before granting permission to host the MGA logo as a guarantee to customers of fair play.
The online gaming industry in Malta is set to become one of the most important pillars within the services sector, and has already won a reputation as being the European leader in hosting and legislation, even though countries like Italy and France have launched a crusade against it.
Support companies to the sector are flourishing and are growing at a very fast rate.
Pentasia iGaming Recruitment is currently the recognised industry leader in the provision of recruitment consultancy and executive search solely to the iGaming sector.
Based in Malta and run by Christopher Vella, Pentasia has been recruiting purely in the iGaming industry since 2001 and developed a network of clients and candidates throughout Europe, the Caribbean, North America, Australasia, South Africa, and the Far East.
Pentasia currently has offices in Malta, UK, Costa Rica, Sweden and Singapore and has recently added ‘iGaming Academy’ to it’s portfolio as an initiative to provide training and knowledge to the sector
“When we started operating Pentasia iGaming Recruitment in Malta, we realized that a vacuum exists for specialized training for online gaming. Given the rapid growth of the online gaming industry here, Malta was the obvious choice for the launching of iGaming Academy. The response we are getting from the Lotteries and Gaming Authority and from the operators themselves is encouraging.” Christopher Vella |
