This year’s ICE Totally Gaming EXPO 2016 was once again a great success for the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) where a high degree of interest in Malta as a gaming jurisdiction of excellence was registered. In fact, traffic on Malta’s stand was higher than that experienced in previous years.
ICE Totally Gaming is an annual b2b gaming event that brings together the online and offline gaming sectors. Featuring world-leading innovators drawn from the betting, bingo, casino, lottery, mobile, online, social and street sectors, ICE provides a sensational, global perspective on all forms of gaming.
This year, Malta topped the ICE international league table with 34 exhibitors, followed by United States (23), Italy (18), Germany (13), Spain (11), Austria, Gibraltar and Slovenia (9), and Cyprus, Czech Republic and Netherlands (8 each). ICE expo is important for the Maltese Authority, as it serves as another opportunity to meet with a number of existing Maltese licensees as well as potential new licensees showing their interest in establishing their presence in Malta to serve markets in Europe and beyond.
Joseph Cuschieri, Executive Chairman of the MGA said that this year’s ICE expo was very positive for the Maltese Authority, with a number of existing licensees confirming their plans for growth and expansion in Malta. Furthermore, a high degree of interest was registered by potential new licensees in establishing their presence in Malta to serve markets in Europe and beyond. The new gaming legislation which should be enacted later this year and the changing regulatory landscape in Europe was of particular interest for the industry. “This is very encouraging for both Malta and the MGA”, said Mr. Cuschieri. “It gives us the motivation and resolve to continue delivering on our strategic plans to make Malta the Silicon Valley of gaming and a global centre of excellence”, he continued.
At this year’s expo, the MGA participated with a team of 12 officials, with disciplines ranging from Legal, International Affairs, Compliance and Authorisations together with members of the MGA’s senior leadership team.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Competitiveness and Economic Growth, José Herrera, praised the excellent work MGA is doing both locally and abroad. Reference is made to the interim performance report recently published by the entity which states that for the period of January to June 2015 43 new remote gaming licences were issued whereas 22 licences were terminated, 8% less when compared to the corresponding period in 2014, and suspended a total of eight licences, 3% more than what had been suspended in the corresponding period of 2014. Furthermore, as at the end of June 2015, there were 277 registered remote gaming operators, collectively holding 474 licences. This represents a 14.5% increase over what was registered during the same period in 2014. This indicates that the remote gaming industry in Malta has continued to grow, providing high-quality jobs and a reputation to our country as a reputable jurisdiction.