As we enter 2022, Malta remains a global hub for iGaming, with hundreds of online casinos, sportsbooks and betting businesses operating from the Mediterranean nation.
If you are considering basing your iGaming business in Malta you'll want to do you due diligence, and make sure it’s the right location for you. The good news is that there’s a huge range of support services for online casino and betting companies in Malta, including technology, banking and business accounts, marketing partners and much more. This supportive environment makes the process of setting up an iGaming business in Malta very straightforward.
Xace has brought together a comprehensive selection of Malta online gambling statistics to help you get a clearer understanding of iGaming on the island. To see data for previous years, why not review our Malta Online Gaming Statistics 2021 and 2020 articles?
Malta online gambling data for 2022
The new chairman of the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), Carl Brincat, recently stated that the nation’s gaming sector “seems to have weathered the [COVID-19] storm, partly due to its dynamism and constant innovation.” This certainly seems to be the case – revenues grew by 15.3% in 2020, reaching some €924m.
Malta’s extraordinary achievements in online gambling are largely due to its 2004 online gaming regulations. These rules gave sportsbooks and online casino websites a clear framework to operate in, which meant they could expand with confidence.
As the following online gambling statistics for Malta reveal, that early move has paid dividends.
Overview of gaming in Malta
Malta provides permits for a wide range of online gaming activities, including online casinos, online sports betting, and online poker. Customers can log into accounts from around the world and play on online casinos or partake in betting on sportsbooks.
The size of Malta’s online gaming market
Industry forecasts predict a global online gambling market value of USD $93 billion by 2023 and Malta is a key player. A huge 10% of the world’s online gaming companies are registered in Malta, and so a significant portion of global revenue is handled by businesses there.
According to a the latest MGA interim report published in July 2021, gaming contributed an impressive 8%of the Maltese economy. The latest data from the end of 2020 show there were an impressive 26.2 million online gaming customer accounts registered in the archipelago – nine million more than in 2018.
Online gaming is a hugely important part of the country's economy – and one way this shows up is in its share of internet usage. Around 50% of the country's international bandwidth is dedicated to online gambling activities!
What kind of iGaming and online casino companies operate in Malta?
By the end of 2020 (the latest date available), 314 companies held online gaming licences in Malta. In that year alone, 58applications for gaming licenses were made, and 68 licenses were issued.
Of these gaming licenses, there are four types:
Class 1: Casino Style Games, Lotteries and Slots – 49%
Class 2: Sports betting – 36%
Class 3: P2P, Betting Exchanges, Skins, Tournaments and Bingo – 12%
Class 4: Software vendors taking commission on wagers – 3%
Malta is home to several major names in online gaming, including Betsson, Tipico and Betfair.
Malta online gambling – employment statistics
Malta’s online gaming industry attracts highly skilled professionals from across the globe. Despite the pandemic, employment in the sector actually increased– from 6,593 in 2019 to 7,557 by December 2020, compared to just 735 employees in land-based gambling (out of a working-age population of ~250,000). What is more, 3,000 – 4,000 people work in a variety of ancillary services including web hosting, legal work, banking, payments, accounts and marketing.
When it comes to salaries, Malta is an attractive place for online gaming professionals. Surveys indicate that Malta online gaming salaries range between €22,000 and €75,000 on average for core staff – a 10% increase on 2019 levels. Meanwhile, executive level jobs pay, on average, €136,000.
While this might be less than the pay for online gaming jobs in other EU countries, Malta has a significantly lower cost of living too. According to a recent report by recruitment firm Boston Link, demand for iGaming workers is higher in 2022 than pre-COVID levels.
The government is also working hard to attract people to work in the online gaming sector. Skilled recruits in the online gaming sector are being offered a 15% tax cap on salary by the Maltese government (known as the Highly Qualified Persons Rules).
How popular is online gaming in Malta?
Online gaming firms mainly choose Malta as a base to reach the wider European market. Nonetheless, the local population (of about half a million) are also online gaming fans:
- A report from the MGA reveal that 56% of the population regularly participate in gambling activities
- About 4,200 Maltese people play online games each week
- The average gamer spends 49 minutes each week on an online gaming website
- Remote gaming is most popular among people in the 18-24 age group, followed by the 43 – 59 age group
Player profiles for Malta gambling
- Most players are aged 25 – 35 (39.5%), followed by people in the 35-54 age range (31.4%)
- Debit card is the most popular payment method (40%), followed by bank transfer (31%) and e-wallets (17%)
Malta gambling license application information
If you are considering applying for a gaming license in Malta, the following statistics give an insight into the costs, time and processes involved:
- Application fees vary depending on the license type and size of business, but usually start at €25,000, rising to around €500,000 for large, complex companies
- Annual license renewals cost €25,000
- There is no gaming tax (unless the customer comes from Malta – you will need to pay a 5% tax on earnings from Maltese customers)
- It normally takes 12-16 weeks to get your license approved
- Corporate tax rates are an effective 5%
Malta online gaming statistics
As these figures show, the online gambling industry in Malta is thriving and has an exciting future ahead, with revenue and employment increasing in 2020/21 despite the global downturn.
Thanks to its location, support services (in everything from banking to marketing to IT and payments) and transparent regulatory environment, Malta will continue to thrive as one of the most attractive places to launch an online casino or betting business in 2022.
Are you considering setting up an iGaming business, online casino, betting site or sportsbook in Malta in 2022? If so, you will need a way to accept payments from customers.
Xace is an e-money institution with a major presence in Malta, and we provide digital business accounts for online gaming firms like yours. While Xace is not a bank, we provide many of the key features you would expect from a banking solution, and our business accounts are tailored to the needs of the online gaming industry.
Open a Xace account to begin receiving and making payments once your Malta gaming license is approved. To learn more, read about our iGaming payment accounts here.
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