At GMC we pride ourselves on being avant-garde and see ourselves as a company that is proactive rather than reactive. Over the years the portfolio over services we offer has grown tremendously and we will continue to offer the standard of service our clients have come to expect from us.
GM Corporate and Fiduciary Services Ltd. 147/1, St. Lucia Street, Valletta VLT 1185, Malta. |
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+(356) 2123 5341 | |
info@gmint.com | |
Through the enactment of the Remote Gaming Regulations in 2004, (L.N. 176 of 2004), companies that partake in activities of on line gambling sites are licensed to do business in Malta. These regulations made Malta the first EU Member State to regulate online Gaming as of May 1st 2004, whilst ensuring that the highest standards are maintained and all precautionary measures to prevent money laundering are enforced.
The regulatory body supervising remote gambling operations is the Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA), which through the Remote Gaming Regulations, 2004, are allowed to issue four classes of license, based on different games and activities.
The following are the four types of licences:
Class 1: For operators managing their own risk on repetitive games. This class covers casino-type games, skills games and online lotteries (Random Number Generators) e.g. Casino, Lotteries, Slots, Arcade Games, Bingo;
Class 2: For operators managing their own risk on events based on a matchbook. Under this class falls fixed odds betting, pool betting and spread betting e.g. Sports Betting;
Class 3: For operators taking a commission from promoting and/or betting games. This class includes P2P, poker networks, betting exchange and game portals.
Class 4: To host and manage remote gaming operators, excluding the licensee himself. This is intended for software vendors who want to provide management and hosting facilities on their platform of any of the above classes. Such operators are not involved in player management functions. They merely provide a host platform from which other licensees can operate.
Any of the above licences are issued for a period of five years and may be renewed thereafter for periods of five years. A basic premise of the Remote Gaming Regulations is that the core part of the online gaming/betting operations is physically located in Malta. “Physical Presence” has been interpreted as meaning essentially four things:-
- Incorporation of a Company in Malta;
- Keeping the game servers in Malta (but not the web server);
- Keeping the database servers in Malta;
- The presence of a key official in Malta.
Therefore, the gaming licence will depend on the types of betting activity that the prospective licensee will purport to undertake. Upon the submission of a detailed business plan including the games/betting activities, we can advise under which licence category the games would be classified.
Gaming tax payable to the LGA
Different levels of taxation are due for revenue derived solely from betting revenue generated. The gaming tax is differentiated according to the type of gaming/betting operations as follows:
Class 1: approximately €4,660 per month, for the first six months after issuance of the licence and approximately €7,000 per month thereafter;
Class 2: Fixed-odds betting – 0.5% on the gross amount of bets accepted.
Class 3: 5% on Real Income (calculated by subtracting the direct costs from the net revenue).
Class 4: The gaming tax payable by a hosting platform is nil for the first six months from the issuance of the licence, approximately €2,350 per month for the next six months and €4,660 per month thereafter.
Class 1 licensee on Class 4 platform: the gaming tax payable is €1,165 per month
The maximum gaming tax payable annually by one licensee in respect of any one licence is €466,000. Gaming Taxes must be paid to the LGA on a monthly basis and the licensee shall not later than the 20th day of the month pay such gaming fee to the LGA for the previous calendar month.