The Malta Gaming Authority, responsible for the licensing of a number of top online casinos that serve the UK and European gambling markets, issued a half year report today.
The MGA noted a number of interesting trends that were seen in the first six months of 2016. The interim report showed, for example, that employment within the country's gaming industry increased by 31% from January to June 2016.
There are now over 6,150 people who are employed within Malta's gaming sector, contributing greatly to Malta's economy. The gambling industry contributes 12% of the island-state's total economic value.
Looking ahead, the MGA predicted that its gaming sector will continue to give a strong performance, and it is expected that 2017 will be a particularly robust year.
A full report will be issued regarding the whole of 2016 in May next year.
490 Gaming Licenses in Malta
The MGA report showed that nearly 500 gaming licenses have been issued by the authority, considered to be one of the most reputable in the industry. Around 257 gaming companies are in operation in Malta.
This is a significant growth when compared to numbers in the first six months of 2014, when 414 licenses were issued.
4.6% of the government's total indirect tax intake was generated by tax revenues from the gaming sector - a sum of 28 million.
Land vs Online Betting in Malta
When looking at numbers regarding land casino betting versus remote betting, statistics showed to be quite interesting.
While the number of visitors to land casinos increased by 12.2%, gamblers actually spent 11% less during their visits. Per visit, gaming revenue dropped 22%.
In comparison, the number of active accounts in the remote gaming sector climbed by an average of 31% over a period of 12 months.