Lm8m expected in three years from online betting
by Franco Aloisio
Malta will benefit tremendously from the setting up of foreign online betting companies, and in the coming three years the government is expected to net between Lm5m to Lm8m from such operations, Finance Minister John Dalli said yesterday.
Mr Dalli was speaking during the launch in Malta of the British online betting company, Heathorns International. This is the second company to have set up back-office operations in Malta. The other company is Stanley Leisure.
Mr Dalli said it is estimated that in the coming three years, online betting companies in Malta will be employing around 500 people. He said another five online betting companies will be given licenses to operate from Malta in the coming two months, although Maltese cannot place their bets.
Malta is being chosen for the back-office online betting operations mainly because of the advantageous tax incentives package.
In the United Kingdom, these companies pay a 6.75 per cent tax on their turnover, while in Malta they will pay only 0.5 per cent.
Mr Dalli said online betting is another important sub-sector being generated in the Maltese economy within the financial services sector.
He said these companies are operating in a well-regulated environment. Heathorns International was set up earlier this year, although its mother company - Heathorns UK - has been established since 1890. Matthew
Simmonds, the general manager of Heathorns International, said the company will also be handling phone betting.
Mr Simmonds said that within the first year of operations, the company will be generating a turnover of £12m.
He said his company chose Malta after considering Gibraltar, the Channel Islands and Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Stanley Leisure yesterday reported a 32 per cent surge in profits. But the group admitted poor results in Euro 2000, and also in Royal Ascot, as well as big delays in its electronic point of sale system.
Pre-tax profit for the year ended 30 April was £31.1m, reflecting organic growth and acquisitions. Betting turnover and profit rose by nine per cent.
Stanley Leisure believes that the internet will bring more people into, rather than take them away from, its casinos.
In fact, the company believes that the internet will attract a new, younger, more wealthy type of punter.
The casinos will also start giving out free CD-ROMs to customers, as William Hill does at the moment, so people do not have to download software for online gaming.
Stanley Leisure's online site is based in Malta.
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