MALTA RECOGNISES IMPORTANCE OF GAMING SECTOR


Friday May 18, 2012 : MALTA RECOGNISES IMPORTANCE OF GAMING SECTOR
 
New responsible gambling fund in the works
 
The Maltese Government's Finance Minister Tonio Fenech has unveiled a proposal for the setup of a responsible gambling fund which will be partly funded by gaming companies and scheduled for launch in 2013.
 
The fund proposal, still to be submitted for Cabinet discussion, will cover a broader spectrum of punters.  Currently, Maltese residents have an option to blacklist themselves from entering casinos for a six month or one year period said The Malta Times.
 
Fenech clearly feels differently from the player community about the efficiency and responsiveness of Malta's regulator the LGA, lauding its performance and impressing on the importance of the gambling industry to the Maltese economy when he visited the authority’s offices this week.
 
Stats released include:
 
–     7000 people employed in the sector of which 4000 work directly with gaming companies.
 
–     Revenue from gaming tax has risen 40 per cent since 2007, reaching Euro 47.5 million last year, an increase of almost Euro 1 million over 2010, reports The Times of Malta.
 
–     Gaming sector grew by 29 percent, tripling the number of licence holders in just three years.  Currently there are 282 gaming operators in Malta and 60 more awaiting licence approvals.