Light & Wonder’s expanded Sliema office is another milestone in Malta’s next phase as a gaming and esports hub. Earlier in May, Imperial Esports launched its new European headquarters on the island.
Light & Wonder’s Malta move
Light & Wonder is one of the largest global gambling technology providers, with roots going back to 1973 and a rebrand in 2022 that sharpened its focus on gaming and iGaming. The company reported multi‑billion‑dollar annual revenue in 2024, underlining its role as a tier‑one supplier in the global gaming value chain.
On 26 May 2026, Light & Wonder marked the relocation and expansion of its Sliema office, positioning Malta as a scaled operational hub for its iGaming business. The new site concentrates teams across technology, product, compliance and commercial, with active recruitment underway across a range of roles.
The ribbon‑cutting brought together Light & Wonder iGaming CEO Simon Johnson, GamingMalta CEO Ivan Filletti, Malta Gaming Authority representatives and Minister for the Economy, Enterprise, and Strategic Projects Silvio Schembri. According to GamingMalta, the expanded footprint reinforces a long‑term commitment to Malta as a hub for regulated iGaming, rather than a short‑term licensing base.
“Seeing Light & Wonder expand its operations in Malta is the kind of result we strive for through our economic vision and the policies we continue to implement,” said Minister Schembri. “Our aim is not simply to attract companies to Malta, but to create the right environment for them to grow, invest for the long term, and create quality careers for Maltese workers. Today’s inauguration is another clear sign of the confidence that leading gaming companies continue to place in our country.”
Why Malta still matters to Light & Wonder
Light & Wonder already runs a distributed footprint across Las Vegas, London, Stockholm, Singapore and other hubs. The decision to expand its Malta operations reflects Malta’s strength in offering a mature regulatory framework, specialist service providers and a workforce used to working with cross‑border gaming operations, which makes it attractive for a platform‑heavy supplier.
By anchoring iGaming operations in Sliema, Light & Wonder can coordinate content, platform development, commercial support and compliance for EMEA markets from a single location that is tightly aligned with EU regulation and oversight.
Fitting into Malta’s Vision 2050
Under Malta’s Vision 2050 strategy, gaming is identified as one of the industries driving sustainable economic growth, with targets for higher‑value jobs and a broader interactive entertainment sector. Policy documents and public statements around Vision 2050 emphasise a shift from a pure licensing model to a mix of regulation, content production, infrastructure and talent development, including video games and esports. In that context, a global supplier using Malta as a scaled iGaming operations hub like Light & Wonder is exactly the sort of long‑term “stickiness” policymakers want to see, because it anchors skilled roles in product, tech and compliance rather than just corporate registration.
One island, two growth tracks
Taken together, Light & Wonder’s expanded Sliema office and Imperial’s St Julian’s HQ show how Malta is trying to align regulated iGaming, interactive entertainment and esports under one policy umbrella. On one side, you have a B2B infrastructure and content provider scaling up platform and compliance operations; on the other, a front‑of‑house esports brand building training and production capacity on the island.
Both moves lean on the same foundations. A specialist regulator, GamingMalta as a promotion and ecosystem agency, and a Vision 2050 plan that explicitly calls for investment in new gaming verticals including esports and video game development. This is welcome news for the local workforce as it creates the demand for a broader mix of roles across software engineering, product, broadcast production, performance coaching and tournament operations, rather than a narrow pipeline of back‑office jobs.
What this means for operators and suppliers
For B2B iGaming suppliers and operators, Light & Wonder’s decision to scale core functions in Malta is a clear message that the jurisdiction still works as a long‑term operational hub, even as regulatory expectations rise. Having a global platform provider run product, compliance and commercial teams out of Sliema also reinforces Malta’s relevance as a place where partners can plug into large distribution networks and multi‑market content strategies.
At the same time, the Imperial Esports project hints at a future where iGaming and esports sit closer together geographically and commercially, especially around content production, sponsorship and live events. For brands already licensed or based in Malta, that opens possibilities around cross‑overs between casino brands, sportsbooks, esports teams and live broadcasts anchored on the island, in line with Vision 2050’s push to host major esports events and build a broader entertainment profile.
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