11 - 17 May 2000

Dalli says online betting companies welcome in Malta

by a staff reporter

Genuine online betting service companies are encouraged to operate out of Malta, Finance Minister John Dalli said yesterday at the opening of the first European Gaming Forum.

The Malta Business Weekly had already reported that a number of international on-line betting companies have applied for a licence to

operate from Malta. Among these is the Stanley Leisure Gaming Group which is expected to start operating from Malta shortly. This newspaper also reported that Malta is set to emerge as the new offshore location for the second wave of of low-tax betting outfits targetting punters in Britain.

In his opening address, at what has been termed "The Industry Event of Year 2000", Mr Dalli explained why Malta was an excellent country to operate from.

"Economic and political stability, a well-educated English-speaking workforce, the right time zone, very good communications, relatively low labour costs and relatively low office costs" were highlighted by Mr Dalli as Malta's positive critical factors for services companies.

The internet is revolutionising the betting industry, Mr Dalli told his audience. The current estimated size of the traditional gaming market is in excess of US$1,000bn per annum. Over the last two years there has been a massive growth in the internet betting market, with some forecasters predicting global internet betting to generate US$10bn by the year 2002, Mr Dalli reported.

"We in Malta have identified e-commerce as a potential niche for our developing services sector," Mr Dalli told the audience.

He said that towards the end of 1999 various companies had approached the government with a view to being granted a licence to operate from Malta. While recognising the economic potential, the government had the protection of Malta's interests and image foremost on its mind. Thus, it was decided that a specific policy on how these companies should operate and be regulated had to be formulated in accordance with the highest European standards.

Therefore, licences will only be granted to companies which are already licensed in recognised jurisdictions and will only cover fixed odds sporting events, he said.

Companies operating cybercasinos or computer generated games will not be given licences because, "we feel that these types of operations being continuously online can become addictive and are socially undesirable," said Mr Dalli. Mr Dalli explained the stringent checks companies will have to go through when applying for a licence.