Malta Making 12% of Its GDP From Online Gambling

When it comes to making money off of online poker and gaming in general, it is well understood that the players are not the ones taking home the majority of the profits; in fact most players don’t win any money at all. The gambling operators such as poker rooms and online casinos are the ones making money no matter what, but the countries that issue the online gambling licenses and allow operators to operate on their soil have been scooping huge profits as well.

The small European nation of Malta has been on the forefront of this market, with an astounding 12% of its total GDP coming from online gambling. The young nation decided upon its inception that it would attract as much business as possible by enforcing various tax incentives for those businesses. Other then such incentives, the country has also managed to develop one of the most reliable banking systems in the world allowing it to hardily feel the economic crisis that hit Europe in 2008.

Back in 2004 Malta was one of the first countries to start giving out online gambling licenses and its rules and regulations of this market have swayed many of the world’s top online gambling companies to come to the Mediterranean island to do their business. And online gambling companies are of course not the only ones who came to Malta, as many hi tech and other internet companies have also made it their base of operations.

Malta currently hosts over 250 online gambling operators and has seen and increase in the number of licenses issued by 25% in 2014 alone. Now, the country is preparing to build a new SmartCity, a place to put all the high tech companies in one place with a belief that putting all the companies close to each others will make them all thrive. The LGA, which is the Gaming Authority in the country, is also set to move its quarters into the SmartCity. The CEO of SmartCity explained:

The internet gaming regulations are one of the most important pieces of the puzzle when it comes to companies looking for a place to put their headquarters and this is why Malta has been ever adjusting theirs to comply with the latest needs of the industry and stay one step ahead of the competition. Currently, the entire iGaming regulations sector is in the process of change once again in the hopes of keeping their position of industry leader when it comes to hosting online gambling companies.