The Government of Malta has revised the Gaming Licence Fees, whereby the fees for Type 1 games have been substantially reduced. Furthermore, start-ups will be entitled to a 1-year exemption on compliance contributions. The revised regulations came into force on 1 January 2018 for remote gaming operators, while the Gaming Act is likely to come into force on 1 July 2018.
Existing licensees will continue to pay dues in accordance with the current legal framework until 30th June 2018. New licensees will be subject to the requirements of the new regulations even during the period from 1st January 2018 to 30th June 2018. All licensees will then be required to comply with the new regulations on 1st July 2018.
At the end of June 2018, dues paid by current licensees between January-June 2018 will be reconciled with the provisions of the rules as follows:
- Licensees that would have paid more than what is required under the new regulations will be able to set off such amounts against future fees due;
- Licensees that would have paid less than is what required under the new regulations will be required to pay the difference accrued by reference month September 2018. Payment must be made by not later than 20 October 2018.
Furthermore, under the new regulations, Class 4 licensees (B2B operators) will no longer be required to pay a monthly gaming tax for every operator they supply licensed in an EEA jurisdiction (other than Malta) or another jurisdiction approved by the Malta Gaming Authority. Class 4 licensees will receive a credit for the grand total of dues they incur in excess of the provisions of the new regulations during the period January to June 2018.
