MGA Canceled 7 Licenses in First Half of 2020, and More Statistics
In addition to the seven canceled licenses, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) contacted several operators regarding breaches of its rules and regulations. There were 20 notices and 11 warnings given in total.
The Report Includes Details of the Licenses Issued, Revoked, and Suspended
H1 of 2020 was a busy period for MGA. At this time, the authority issued a total of 303 licenses. 196 were issued to B2C applicants with the remaining issued to B2B applicants.
The gambling operators who had their licenses revoked include Dorobet, The Daily Fantasy Football Company, Watch World Luxury, and Pick Mater.
One company, Blackrock Media, agreed to pay a penalty for operations without the appropriate authorization by MGA. The penalty equals €2.3 million.
Active Online Accounts for Online Gambling Increased by 11.8%
The number of active players, or at least player accounts, reached a new high of 17.2 million. The most popular online gambling for H1 of 2020 was the slots for Type 1, and Pay n Play Casinos. It generated 77.4% of the industry’s revenue for H1.
P2P poker gambling takes the crown for Type 3 gaming. A whopping 90.8% of revenue came from online poker games.
When it came to sports betting, 74.8% of the revenue came from bets on football.
The Live Gaming Industries Took a Hit Due to COVID-19
Unfortunately, land-based casinos didn’t do so well given the world situation. Visitors slid by over 50% and new player registration shrunk by more than 64%.
Bingo player visits and visitors to gaming premises fell sharply, as well, down by 54.1% and 39.3% respectively.
Sales for the National Lottery in Malta also fell by 36%.
MGA Collected the Highest Amount in Taxes Since 2018
Because of the significant decline in participants for several industry operations, the Malta Gaming Authority was able to collect €24.6 million in online gaming tax. This is the highest amount since 2018.
Live casinos paid just €3.9 million in tax for H1, which is less than half of what was paid the previous year. As expected, the other operations mentioned also paid far less in taxes for H1, reflecting the steep decline in sales due to the virus.
MGA claims to see just over 8000 people employed across the industry, with 313 companies remaining active at the end of H1 (in comparison to 318 licensed operators). Operators paid 16.4% less tax for the half, equaling €33.7 million.