Malta

In April 2004, the Remote Gambling Regulations were revamped and now offer four classes of remote gambling licenses. Class 1 is for operators providing online casino-style games, lotteries, slots, games of chance, and games that use a random number generator. The Class 2 gaming license is for online sports and betting operators offering fixed-odds betting, pool betting, and spread betting. The Class 3 license is for advertisers and promotion companies that operate from Malta including P2P, poker networks, betting exchanges, and game portals. Class 4 licenses are for companies that host and manage remote gaming operations but are not themselves operators, such as software vendors who provide management and hosting facilities on their platform.

Licenses are granted for a period of five years and may be renewed thereafter for five-year periods. All four remote gaming licenses pay taxes according to their revenues. Malta’s regulations offer a cap on gaming tax by which the maximum gaming tax payable in one year is EUR 466,000.

The application fee for a new remote gaming license in any class is EUR 2,330. The application fee is payable with the submission of an application for a license. The license renewal fee is EUR 1,165 (for subsequent five-year periods).

The annual license fee for any class of license is EUR 7,000.

A prospective licensee establishing an online gaming operation in Malta must set up a corporate entity for its operations. Previously, this was established through a limited-liability company registered in Malta for this purpose. The regulations have been amended and any corporate body established in Malta under the Companies Act now qualifies to apply for a remote gaming license.

As of January 1, 2007, establishing an ITC (International Trading Company) is no longer possible. Any company established post-2006 is a regular Maltese company with restrictions of an ITC and, therefore, a remote gaming operation using such a company will no longer need to exclude Maltese players from its offering. Previously registered ITCs had to convert to a regular company no later than by the end of 2010.

Companies that are granted a Maltese license are not permitted to take bets from the island's citizens.

In March 2005, the first Malta Remote Gaming Council (MRGC) was elected. The Council encompasses all remote gaming operators and service providers. The MRGC launched an online forum for the purpose of allowing all operators and service providers to discuss legal, technical, and administrative issues.

In September 2007, Malta made the United Kingdom’s White List of countries that match England’s stringent gaming regulations. As a result, the number of licensees in Malta has seen a steady rise.