Malta general election: what the victor’s manifesto says on iGaming
The Maltese general election has taken place, and the Labour Party (PL), which was the incumbent headed into the election, has won its fourth election in a row, meaning that it is set to serve a five-year term in Malta’s government.
With Malta standing as something of an iGaming hub in Europe, what does this election result mean for the industry, and what has the PL put forward in its electoral manifesto in relation to iGaming?
As detailed in an article published a couple of days ahead of the election, SiGMA News had contacted the PL and the Nationalist Party (PN) to ask them about their plans and proposals for the iGaming industry if they were to win the election.
Labour’s manifesto
Now that the election has concluded and the PL has secured another term in government, SiGMA News looked at the electoral manifesto to see what it says exactly for the iGaming sector.
While there are various proposals that can have an indirect or knock-on impact on the sector, the PL’s manifesto does have a section dedicated specifically to iGaming.
Going over all the points listed in this section, the PL starts by saying that “the gaming industry in Malta establishes jobs with high wages, attracts quality foreign investment, and is a client for many small businesses”. It continued that this sector is evolving rapidly, “and therefore we will establish a legal framework regarding the indirect taxation which protects its competitiveness”.
The PL goes on to describe Malta’s gaming industry as “among the biggest parts of the economy,” as it states that this sector in Malta employs 14,000 people and has an added value of around 8 per cent. “The future of the gaming industry and esports in Malta is beautiful. In the next two years, we will assist in the enactment of eight projects in this field, with an investment of €60 million and the creation of 1,300 new jobs.”
As the PL had said to SiGMA News when previously contacted for comment, the electoral manifesto lays out the plans to widen the Malta Gaming Authority’s (MGA) competencies to allow it to license working studios for narrative-driven games, esports platforms, and immersive virtual content.
The PL has also previously indicated that it has plans to allow the MGA to grant licences to companies operating in the prediction market space, though further details about these plans are currently not known.
It continued that the PL established the Gaming Malta Academy and will leverage Malta’s collaboration with Unity Technologies and Epic Games to promote training for more youths in the gaming and esports industries.
The iGaming section of the PL electoral manifesto concludes with plans to further integrate the teaching of coding and video game development in secondary education, as well as providing students the opportunity to participate in an interschool esports league.
Additionally, the PL’s manifesto includes the commitment to create an esports centre with modern gaming facilities where tournaments and other competitive ventures could be organised.
How this result may impact the country’s gaming sector, and subsequently the wider gaming industry in Europe, is yet to be seen. That said, the government’s approach to and view of the iGaming industry are unlikely to change much as the PL remains in government.
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