Malta, with years of deep cultivation in the gaming ecosystem, from policy incentives to financial support, and talent services, has formed a support network covering the entire lifecycle of operators, becoming a popular choice for global gaming enterprises. Relevant regional gaming ecosystem cases can be referenced on the PASA official website.
Multi-institutional Collaboration: Creating a Support Loop from Entry to Expansion
Through multi-departmental collaboration, Malta provides "one-stop" services for operators, addressing various needs from establishment to development:
Malta Enterprise: As the core support institution, involved in everything from initial site selection coordination, policy consultation, to later stage technical investment and product diversification, also connecting gaming companies with R&D subsidies, tax offsets, and other incentives, such as funds aimed at responsible gaming tools or cybersecurity enjoying special support.
Bank of Valletta: As the largest local financial institution, it offers customized services. Corporate account opening requires a 6-step compliance review (including equity structure, operational qualifications, etc.), ensuring transparency while also providing critical support for gaming operations like multi-currency accounts and cross-border payments.
Identità: Focused on talent mobility, assists operators in handling residence permits for foreign employees, employer registration, etc., especially for the gaming industry's exclusive workforce of 14,000, simplifying the recruitment process and solving the "difficulty in hiring" issue. These institutions will also jointly appear at the 2026 Barcelona ICE exhibition, showcasing Malta's collaborative advantages.
Core Competitiveness: 22 Years of Regulatory Accumulation and a Stable Ecosystem
Malta's gaming support capability stems from long-term industry accumulation and clear positioning:
Regulatory First-Mover Advantage: As early as 2004, it became the first EU country to introduce remote gaming regulations, continuously optimizing policies over 22 years, with the average equity turnover rate of licensed operators currently at 16.4%, and nearly 25% for the top 100 companies, showing strong financial resilience.
Talent and Cost Advantage: The local gaming industry's exclusive workforce has reached 14,000, with nearly 90% of operators recognizing the skill level of local talent, and labor costs are more competitive compared to other popular gaming regions in Europe, which is particularly "quenching" for businesses needing long-term operations.
Political and Business Stability: Maintaining political stability for many years, with strong policy continuity, attracting operators to establish long-term roots — data shows that the top 100 gaming companies in Malta have an average stay of over 10 years, far exceeding the industry average.
Detail Assurance: Solving Operators' Landing "Pain Points"
In response to common financial and talent challenges faced by gaming operators upon landing, Malta offers targeted solutions: On the financial side, although Bank of Valletta's account opening process is strict, it has specifically simplified the transaction account review for gaming enterprises, and also synchronizes player fund account management to avoid the risk of fund commingling; on the talent side, Identità has launched an online application portal, improving the efficiency of residence permit processing for foreign employees by 40%, and also provides a green channel for visas for highly skilled talents. Additionally, Malta Enterprise assists companies in connecting with the local industry chain, such as cooperating with game developers and compliance consulting agencies, allowing operators to "start work upon landing," without the need to build a cooperation network from scratch.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gaming industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
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