Malta Introduction
Malta's
economic policy encourages information technology
operations, and the territory has invested
heavily in state-of-the-art telecommunications.
There are already a number of Internet Service
Providers in Malta, with clear interest
being shown in offshore e-commerce development.
The
most active e-commerce sector in Malta has
been betting and gaming; there are said
to be over 360 betting and gaming e-commerce
operations in total on the island.
The
Malta Communications Authority announced
in March, 2002, that it intended to act
as a catalyst for e-commerce rather than
a regulator in the initial period of development.
Although e-commerce - together with telecommunications
and the country's postal service - is one
of the statutory areas under the competence
of the MCA, the Authority has revealed that
during the developmental stages of the sector,
its job would principally be to bring together
the main players, provide advice and assistance,
and explain the implications of new legislation
as and when it is implemented.
'Given the current embryonic stage of development
of this type of activity in Malta, we see
ourselves acting more as a catalyst in this
sector, rather than as a traditional regulator,'
said Celia Falzon, Project Manager for E-Commerce.
She added that: 'We will be disseminating
information, offering guidance and also
help with regards to the legal implications
of dealing and trading with foreign customers
or merchants. We will also work to keep
the public informed of their own rights
when it comes to transacting electronically.'
The
MCA administers Malta's Electronic Commerce
Act which came into force in mid-2002.
In
February, 2004, the latest e-Europe Progress
Report revealed that Malta was significantly
ahead of most EU accession countries in
terms of internet access and utilisation
of e-commerce. According to the report,
49% of Maltese homes were connected to the
internet, a figure that placed the jurisdiction
top of the league amongst the ten accession
countries and three candidate countries
(Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey) studied in
the survey.
The island was ranked second place behind
Slovenia in terms of Personal Computer ownership,
with 58% of those polled claiming to own
a PC. The study also found that Malta has
70 secure internet servers per million inhabitants,
far higher than EU15 average of 48.
On the business front, the study found that
73% of Maltese firms had a website, also
the highest proportion amongst the accession
states. Of these, 20% had received orders
online, whilst a third of the respondents
reported that e-commerce generated over
1% of their revenues.
The
Privatisation Unit of Malta's Ministry for
Investment, Industry and Information Technology
announced in January, 2006, that it had
received binding offers for the sale of
shares held by the Government of Malta in
Maltacom plc. In May, 2006 Dubai Holding
LLC, which is the ultimate parent company
of Emirates International Telecommunications
Malta Ltd (EIT is a joint venture between
TECOM Investments and Dubai Investment Group),
acquired the Government of Malta’s
60 per cent controlling stake in Maltacom.
In
June 2007, Maltacom Group, was rebranded
and renamed GO in a move that reflects the
company's position as Malta’s sole
quadruple-play organisation covering fixed
voice, mobile, broadband Internet and digital
television.GO came to life replacing the
brands and respective logos of Maltacom,
Maltanet, Multiplus and go mobile. The company
has also announced three sub-brands under
the new GO banner – GO Plus, GO Business
and GO Mobile.
In August 2007, the Malta Communications
Authority (MCA) granted rights of use of
radio frequencies to 3G Telecommunications
Limited, for the establishment and operation
of a third generation (3G) mobile communications
network. This was completed in the case
of Vodafone and Go Mobile in August 2005.
In
January 2008, Maltese telecoms provider
GO, announced a multi-million euro investment
in a second submarine cable linking Malta
to Italy.
According
to GO, the cable links the Mediterranean
island to the Italian mainland via Interoute’s
pan-European network, which connects 85
cities in 22 countries across 54,000 cable
kilometres of fibre.
The
submarine cable project, known as GO-1 Mediterranean
Cable System, was completed by the fourth
quarter of 2008, and was entrusted to an
international consortium made up of Alcatel-Lucent
and Elettra.
GO
Chairman Sonny Portelli explained that the
company would be implementing the new submarine
cable system so that it can offer further
resiliency for its existing international
links by having a more diverse route.
“The
new submarine cable will augment GO’s
international capacity and cater for projected
demands for broadband services which will
be increasing in the coming future, especially
with projects such as Smart City. Moreover,
it will give GO the possibility to procure
broadband capacity from Interoute,”
Mr Portelli stated.
“In
practical terms this means that GO now possesses
world class connectivity, which in turn
allows us to provide services to the most
demanding clients," he added.
Speaking
with regard to the project, Malta's Trade
and Industry Minister Austin Gatt commented:
“What is happening today is very significant.
This is the most fundamental building block
in the edifice we call ‘The Smart
Island’. We will be anything but smart
if we continue to live in fear of disconnection
from the rest of the world.”
GO
Director Deepak Padmanabhan added: “This
multimillion euro investment is a vote of
confidence from GO’s majority shareholder
– EIT – in both GO and the Maltese
Islands. Once the new cable is deployed,
Malta will have a first-class communication
backbone which serves the needs of the islands
for the present and future. This is an important
step to achieve the Government’s goal
of making Malta a centre of excellence in
ICT."
GO
CEO David Kay explained that the cable will
link St. Paul’s Bay in Malta to Mazara
del Vallo in Sicily, making the physical
route of the cable different to that of
the existing one that links St. George’s
Bay to Catania. He further revealed that
the cable would be 290km long and have four
fibre pairs, of which initially only one
will be lit.
The
DWDM terminal equipment was initially equipped
for two wavelengths at 10 Gbit/s each. Compared
to the 2.5 Gbit/s available on the existing
cable, this augmented the available capacity
nine times.
In
Malta the cable lands at GO’s existing
premises at St.Paul’s exchange, whereas
in Sicily it lands in a landing station
provided by Interoute in Via Abetone at
Mazara. From there, the cable is backhauled
through Interoute’s PoP in Mazara
to the rest of their pan-European network.
In Sicily, the cable landing station is
operated and maintained by Interoute.
“The
new submarine cable network complements
our strategy of growing our data, hosting
and managed services business lines. Moreover,
this project demonstrates GO’s investment
capacity which is linked to the country’s
need to become an ICT hub in the Mediterranean,"
Kay stated at the time.
Alcatel-Lucent
designed, manufactured and commissioned
the submarine cable system, based on its
dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM)
technology and cables, with the ability
to be upgraded easily and cost-effectively
in the future. Elettra was be responsible
for the marine survey and laying of the
cable. Elettra is a Telecom Italia Group
company which specializes in survey, installation
and maintenance of submarine cable networks.
Interoute's
network is the largest in Europe. The company’s
fibre optic network consists of twelve rings
across more than 54,000 route kilometres
of lit fibre, and has the capacity to carry
a petabit (a billion megabits per second)
of traffic.
Interoute’s
Renzo Ravaglia announced that: “Interoute
is pleased to be a part of this historic
venture, made possible through the EIT/Dubai
partnership. With this cable, GO and Interoute
will open up opportunities for Malta in
the European Union, North America, the Middle
East and beyond. It will physically link
Malta directly into Europe’s largest
communications platform, making access to
London, Paris, Amsterdam and Rome almost
as easy as connecting Valletta and Gozo.”
In
September 2008, the European Commission
confirmed Malta’s high ICT ranking,
recognising it again that year as "well
advanced in information society, with many
benchmarking indicators significantly above
the EU average."
In
its i2010 mid-term review (Preparing Europe’s
Digital Future) the European Commission
recognised Malta as Europe’s undisputed
leader with regard to the indicator of basic
public services for enterprises being fully
available online.
"That
leading position gives Maltese business
a unique competitive advantage over all
other businesses in Europe due to the fact
that they are the only businesses in the
entire European Union to benefit from a
complete range of services online,"
the government observed.
Maltese
basic public services available online for
Maltese citizens are at 92%, the second
best ranking in Europe compared with the
European average of 51%, the Maltese authorities
further revealed. The rapidity of the increase
in these services was also noted by the
Commission, which observed that in 2004,
only 33% of Maltese public services to citizens
were available online.
Broadband
penetration in Maltese households as a percentage
of households with an internet connection
exceeds the European average, showing a
greater take-up of Broadband among Maltese
internet users. Maltese businesses are the
4th best connected in Europe to broadband
and Malta’s population is the 5th
most covered by DSL coverage in the EU.
Malta’s
businesses use technology more than the
average of their competitors in Europe,
and the jurisdiction well exceeds European
averages in integrating e-business in internal
processes and in the use of ERP and analytical
CRM systems, the government stated.
The
ratio of Maltese employees with ICT skills
is the 5th largest in Europe, and the ratio
of ICT specialists in Malta is also ahead
of European average.
The
important contribution of ICT to Malta’s
economy is indicated by the fact that Malta’s
economy enjoys the third largest contribution
to its GDP from the ICT sector, and the
fourth largest employment ratio in the EU.
Minister
for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications,
Austin Gatt, remarked that these rankings:
“once again confirm the rapid pace
with which Malta is realising its ambition
of becoming ‘the Smart Island’.
The Smart Island means smart business, smart
employees, smart schooling, smart government
and smart public services. We have been
confirmed as European leaders in some of
those sectors and in any case very good
performance on all of those fronts."
He
went on to add that:
“The
i2010 mid-term review is an opportunity
for us to refine our weaknesses. We want
to do more to stimulate take up among Maltese
businesses, especially SMEs and the MCA’s
work in this regard, in partnership with
the GRTU and the Chamber of Commerce should
improve our rankings even further by the
end of the i2010 programme term."
“But
the real challenge remains attracting and
training more people to achieve specialist
training in this sector. SmartCity will
mean that we will exceed several times over
our current, albeit high, rankings in ICT
contribution to GDP and ICT specialist employment."
"We
are getting ready for this challenge by
opening up every possible opportunity for
ICT training to anyone interested in taking
that opportunity up. But we need to do more
to get more people interested."
The
Minister concluded: “The EU’s
i2010 mid-term review is certainly cause
for satisfaction for Malta. But the regatta
is not over and we have to work harder to
get further faster.”
See
below for specific information on e-commerce
in Malta, or go to Offshore-e-com.com
for an extensive analysis of the commercial
possibilities, legislation and taxation
of e-commerce.
Back to Top
Malta
Facilities
ISP
and Hosting Services
The
main telecommunications provider is Maltacom
PLC and there are already ten or more ISPs
in Malta.
In
October, 2002, the Government signed an
agreement with Microsoft Corp under which
they
will together be exploring the possibility
of converting Malta into a regional hub
for information technology. The partnership
will see the development of various IT sectors
that will benefit including education, which
is critical to any society, incubation of
services built on Microsoft technology,
and a research academy to foster the development
of new software ventures in Malta.
“Having
Microsoft in Malta proves that the government’s
policy, for these last two years, is producing
the desired results and is managing to create
interest among the large companies. The
government intends to create a long-term
relationship with Microsoft,” said
Minister
for Justice and Local Councils, Dr Austin
Gatt.
“Together
with Microsoft, we have
identified
three projects that will be implemented
immediately. Microsoft will be helping the
government to combat piracy by providing
their expertise and knowledge to law enforcing
people. Besides, campaigns will be launched
to make people aware of the need to respect
copyright,” he added.
The
second initiative is a Microsoft IT academy
in Malta. This offers courses in various
Microsoft technology and leads to certifications
in various IT fields.
“Furthermore,
another three projects have been identified
for the long term. These are the creation
of an incubator in Malta through which knowledge
from Microsoft is transferred to the Maltese
industry to develop together services built
on Microsoft technology. This would be one
of the best initiatives the country could
obtain because it will provide the opportunity
to develop business process which could
be subsequently marketed abroad. Another
long-term initiative is integrating the
Maltese language on the Windows XP. Another
project that will be explored is the further
development of the dot net platform which
is used throughout the world for web development,”
said Dr Gatt.
In
June, 2004, the Maltese government signed
a more extensive strategic partnership deal
with Microsoft which resulted in the US-based
software giant providing support for the
government's new information technology
initiatives. The agreement was signed by
the Minister of Information Technology,
Austin Gatt and the chief executive officer
for Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa,
Jean Philippe Courtois and will lasted for
five years. The agreement ensured that Microsoft
provided assistance in the implementation
of a number of initiatives in the field
of e-government, security and education.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi observed that
it would help Malta promote itself as an
investment centre and spur economic growth.
The agreement would also secure government
departments favourable prices for software
licences, thus helping to ease public expenditure,
explained Dr Gatt.
"The
ICT sector in Malta is set to play a vital
role in building an export-oriented, knowledge-based
economy. The government welcomes every effort
that can drive ICT development forward and
Microsoft has been at the forefront of these
efforts," the IT Minster commented.
Meanwhile, Mr Courtois observed: "Still
in its first weeks as a member of the European
Union, Malta stands as an example to the
other EU accession states in its embrace
of the Lisbon Agenda's technology road map."
In
December 2007, a consortium of Malta’s
leading e-business organisations was created
to help companies establishing a business
presence in the jurisdiction.
The
consortium, known as eBusinessMalta.com,
was launched at the iGaming events held
at St. Julian’s between November 27th
and November 30th, 2007. It is made up of
company and fiduciary services providers
(CSB Group and eManagement Ltd), a hosting
& co-location facilities provider (BMIT
Ltd), an electronic-payment solution provider
(iGlobal Payments (iGP) Ltd), a recruitment
agency / portal (VacancyCentre.com, operated
by CSB Group) and a law firm specialising
in corporate and commercial law (Zammit
& Associates - Advocates).
CSB
Group (established in 1987) and eManagement
Ltd. (member of the HBM Group, established
in 1991, with offices in Curacao, the Netherlands
and the BVI amongst others) assist companies
with respect to their Set-up and Incorporation;
Regulatory and Licensing Consultancy; Directorship
and Management Services, Accounting and
Secretarial Services; Back-Office and Support
Services, and Fiduciary and Trustee Services.
BMIT
Limited (established in 1995) provides hosting
facilities for Internet based businesses,
and has grown as a leading online gaming
service provider in Europe. BMIT specialises
in co-location in Malta for iGaming Operations.
Global
Payments (iGP) Ltd, established in 2002,
provides real time card payment transaction
services over the internet whilst also assisting
in bank account solutions.
VacancyCentre.com,
operated by CSB Group, offers recruitment
services to various local and international
businesses, and also assists in residency
and work permit applications and relocation
to Malta.
Established
in 2005, Zammit & Associates - Advocates,
is a legal practice focusing on business
law, with a predominantly international
outlook. The firm’s strengths lie
in the areas of financial services, e-commerce,
intellectual property, contract law, gaming
law, ship registration and employment law.
E-BusinessMalta.com
was launched at the first ever iGaming events
held in Malta, the iGaming InDepth 2007
(Bingo & Skill Games) and The World
Poker Congress 2007. It is the intention
of the consortium to visit various other
eBusiness related events, including shows,
conventions and fairs in London, Hannover,
Chicago, Miami, and also Macau in Asia.
In
September 2007, the Prime Minister of Malta,
Lawrence Gonzi unveiled the masterplan for
SmartCity Malta, a new self-sustained industry
township for knowledge-based companies to
be developed by Tecom, owners of Dubai-based
SmartCity, in partnership with the Government
of Malta. SmartCity Malta, located in Ricasoli,
in the southern area of Malta’s Grand
Harbour, seeks to build a knowledge-based
industry cluster, primarily serving the
ICT and media sectors. The main component
of the masterplan is a commercial complex
that provides over 100,000 square metres
of intelligent office space. This complex
forms the core business infrastructure for
SmartCity Malta's knowledge-industry community.
Over
30% of the land for SmartCity Malta is open
to the public, featuring green boulevards
and avenues, an amphitheatre, a lagoon,
a coastal route, and vista points on the
edge of a coastal cliff. There are three
urban squares and a main shopping parade,
also a small-scale conference centre, as
well as hotels, catering to the needs of
the business community and visitors to the
companies based there.
The masterplan also features a residential
complex. Around half of the residences will
be located in the vicinity of the main shopping
area, while the rest will consist of villas
and townhouses stretching along a coastal
footpath. Under the terms of the agreement,
the Government of Malta has agreed to make
available nearly 358,000 sq m of land to
develop the knowledge-based township.
The
final roof slab for the first office building
was laid in April 2010 and on 10 October
2010 the first building was inaugurated
by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.
SmartCity Malta will attract an investment
of at least USD300 million, making this
project the largest foreign investment initiative
in the ICT sector in Malta.
The project will provide a substantial boost
to Malta’s construction, hospitality,
maritime, services and retail sectors. At
today’s prices SmartCity Malta is
expected by 2014 to be making an annual
contribution of some EUR534 million (US$725
million) to Malta’s GDP. This makes
SmartCity Malta the single greatest new
contributor to Malta’s economy ever
to have been secured through foreign direct
investment.
SmartCity Malta is projected to generate
4% growth in the Maltese job market. According
to the government, over an eight year period,
SmartCity Malta will create 5,600 jobs with
the possibility of increasing to more than
7,000, apart from the several hundred jobs
created in the economy as a multiplier effect
of the project. In addition to new jobs
in Malta’s knowledge-industry, SmartCity
Malta will bring about new employment opportunities
in areas of administration, hospitality,
retail, maintenance, security and logistics
among others. The project is the largest
job-creator under one roof in Malta’s
history.
Construction
of Phase II commenced in January 2011. Fareed
Abdulrahman, SmartCity's CEO, explained
that: "“Phase II is another major
milestone at SmartCity Malta following the
completion and inauguration of Phase I.
We are well geared for the expected recovery
of the world’s economy and confident
that Malta will be the hub for ICT/media
cluster developments in the Mediterranean
region”
Back to Top
Malta Applications
The government has a project to implement
an e-government system in the country within
the next few years. Amongst other features,
the e-government project is expected to
provide the facility to effect all payments
of taxes and licenses through an online
system with the use of credit cards.
In
early 2005, Malta's Parliamentary Secretary,
Tonio Fenech launched a new online tax return
submission system for individual taxpayers
in the jurisdiction.
According
to Mr Fenech, individuals will now be able
to submit their income tax forms online,
make any pending tax payments over the internet,
and view up to date information regarding
their Tax Statement and Tax Return Statement.
Meanwhile,
the e-Malta Commission had been officially
launched. Its main task is to educate the
Maltese population, commercial sector and
industry about the electronic revolution.
Malta has invested heavily in information
technology both at government level and
in the private sector over the last few
years.
The
Malta Financial Services Centre (MFSC) is
said to be considering a strategy to put
Malta on the map as one of Europe's major
online financial centres with the facility
to enable Malta to become the first dedicated
centre for electronic payments in the world.
The first measures that the MFSC proposes
involve steps to boost the economy and create
high quality employment for professionals.
There is a particular shortage of software
and IT support engineers and the MFSC has
highlighted the need for a 'digital strategy'
to double the country's current number of
graduates within the IT sector over the
next ten years and continue to develop its
online training programmes for school leavers
and the unemployed. According to the MFSC
the percentage of Maltese with degrees in
computer studies is a mere 2.1 per cent
compared to 5 per cent in the UK.
The
MFSC also explains that there are 'fundamental
problems' that must be tackled such as increasing
the university's small number of computer
laboratories - currently there are only
3 labs with 20 workstations each. It states:
'The organisational structure of the university
means that there is insufficient forward
planning of resources to meet the demands
of government economic initiatives.'
Reports in May, 2003, suggested that there
was growing interest from the United States
online gaming industy in setting up Maltese
based operations. Chairman of the Lotteries
and Gaming authority Alfred Muscat said
while no formal approaches had yet been
made by US gaming firms to his department,
he thought it would not be long before they
happened.
The
Malta Lotteries and Gaming Authority published
new regulations in April, 2004. An applicant
for an e-gaming license must be a limited
liability company registered in Malta and
with a physical presence in the jurisdiction,
and prospective licensees will be expected
to pass a fit and proper persons test, in
addition to satisfying a number of other
regulations preventing fraud and money laundering.
In
June, WorldMatch became the first firm to
gain an online gaming licence in Malta.
Describing itself as an innovative concept
in the online gaming industry, WorldMatch
will give the likes of casino operators,
airline companies, cruise liners and internet
portals access to the gaming sector without
any commitment in terms of management, technology,
finance or legal matters. The firm has so
far agreed six contracts. Alessandro Fried,
the general director of WorldMatch explained
at a press conference that Malta was chosen
as the company’s base due to its recent
accession to the European Union, and the
island’s strong legal framework
"Gaming
is a very delicate and sensitive business
which cannot but be treated with respect
and a high sense of ethics, observed Mr
Fried. "Instead of closing their eyes to
the reality of gaming, in Malta they came
up with a serious piece of legislation,"
he added. The launch ceremony was attended
by senior members of the government including
Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech and
the chairman of the Maltese Gaming Authority,
Joe Zammit Maempel.
In
September, 2005, Zeturf, a Malta-licensed
online gaming operator, said it would appeal
against the decision by a French court to
prevent it from offering gaming services
via the internet to the French market.
Zeturf offers its gaming services through
servers in Malta, but it was successfully
argued in court that a French company, Pari
Mutuel Urbain (PMU) has, since the 1930s,
enjoyed the exclusive right to organise
betting activities on horse races in France.
The case is of particular significance to
Malta, says George M. Mangion of PKF Malta.
Malta too had offered a seven-year monopoly
to a lottery operator, thus temporarily
preventing competitors from operating on
Maltese turf.
As a rule, EU member states operate an open
policy that shuns monopolies, but the rules
on freedom of services are complex and sometimes
tortuous. It all hinges on the individual
member state's desire to protect its local
monopolies from unbridled competition.
Despite Zeturf's appeal, says Mr Mangion,
the court's decision thus far may have serious
repercussions on other foreign online operators
involved in cross-border activities.
'In
line with the praxis of international jurisprudence,
once Zeturf is a Malta-registered company,
the execution of the decision meted by the
French courts must be acquiesced by a Maltese
court. But at this stage one may ask, is
it legal for a French citizen to place bets
on a foreign registered gaming website?
'Websites
offering paying bets are not licensed in
France. There are no licences for remote
gambling operations. Indeed, prohibitions
of online gambling are common in Europe.
In Norway, parliament has taken steps to
ban Norwegians from gambling online with
foreign companies. In a case in Italy last
year, the Italian Supreme Court ruled that
Italy's restrictive gambling policies were
consistent with its obligations under current
European Law. The court ruled that gaming
restrictions were justified to protect public
order.
'In
the Zeturf case in the French court it was
argued that the Malta based-bookmaker seemed
to be conducting its horse racing bets using
a PMU database. This led to the protest
by PMU on the alleged abuse of its intellectual
property and rights rather than on the prohibition
exercised by a state monopoly to inhibit
cross-border gambling services.
'In
its decision, the court took the view that
Zeturf by accepting online bets without
PMU prior authorisation had inflicted an
illicit disturbance to PMU.
'It
is curious to note that the French court
also ordered the Malta-based ISP to sever
the power supply to Zeturf. One may argue
that all things being equal the French court
has no jurisdiction over an ISP in another
country.
'The
case should ruffle a few feathers among
the lobbyists of the single market. It is
a moot point, whether the strategies being
employed by the French monopoly lay bare
a genuine desire to bring about a diminution
of gambling opportunities to protect its
citizens. However, in the light of recent
cases in Holland and Germany, it would seem
that a state which actively seeks to stimulate
demand for gambling products, would have
some difficulty justifying its national
gaming restrictions, were it called upon
to do so by the European Commission.
'Ewout
Keuleers, an attorney at Brussels who has
discussed the case, says that it is only
"a question of time" before the restrictions
to cross-border online gambling faced a
growing number of legal challenges. Indeed,
the European Court, in a November 2003 judgment
(the Gambelli case) stated, that public
interest considerations may justify limitations
on the free movement of services, providing
the objectives to be achieved were not disproportionate
to the restrictions imposed.
'But
the veil of hypocrisy ought to be lifted.
There is ample evidence that most of the
member states do not have as their central
objective the restriction of gambling opportunities
but the swelling of treasury coffers.
'The
developments in this case are very important
for Malta, an emerging online gaming centre
of repute. It may well be that the sweet
aroma of its success in attracting quality
operators has percolated in the taste buds
of other member states leaving a spasm of
envy. But that is the rule of the game.
It should be a level playing field where
states can compete for inward foreign investment
based on a well formulated and regulatory
regime.'
In
June 2011, the European Court of Justice
(ECJ) ruled that a monopoly in an EU Member
State can only be justified if findings
prove that gambling related problems actually
exist and a particularly high level of consumer
protection is granted.
In
October, 2005, Betfair announced the launch
of its new operation in Malta, enabling
the pioneering firm to offer its peer to
peer poker games over the internet.
"Exchange
poker, our first product to be hosted here
in Malta, is already proving to be a great
success with our customers. We expect to
launch other games products from Malta in
the near future," stated Steve Ives, director
of Betfair Games.
By
August, 2007 letters of intent had been
issued to 76 companies, and 36 applications
to operate in Malta were still pending.
This is in addition to the 84 e-gaming companies
already licenced to operate from Malta.
The rush of applications from e-gaming firms
to register in Malta was prompted by the
UK government's announcement that only companies
based in territories on its so-called 'white
list' are able to market their services
in the UK from September 1, when the Gambling
Act 2005 came into force. It has been estimated
that this could effectively ban one thousand
firms from advertising in the UK.
To gain a place on the UK white list, countries
must meet stringent new standards which
are designed to stop children gambling,
protect vulnerable people, keep games fair
and keep out crime. Countries in the European
Economic Area (EEA), which includes Malta,
are automatically accepted, and so far,
the Isle of Man and Alderney are the only
non-EEA territories to have made the white
list.
Malta, it seems, is clearly a favoured jurisdiction.
The Lotteries and Gaming Authority issued
a statement informing all potential remote
gaming licensees that due to an unexpected
increase in the number of applications received
for new licences, the Authority was not
in a position to guarantee the processing
of new applications within the normal time-frames.
The
influx of e-gaming companies will also benefit
the government, which stands to raise substantial
revenue in taxation and license fees, Mario
Galea, chief executive of the Lotteries
Gaming Authority, told the Times. However,
he added that the real benefits won't be
felt in Malta until these firms actually
transfer their physical operations to the
island.
Malta Enterprise, the government body responsible
for promoting investment, trade and enterprise
development, showcased a handful of its
successful outsourcing companies at the
UK’s premier outsourcing event –
Outsource World – in May 2007, at
the Business Design Centre, London. Participating
in the event were:
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