Live Casino Studio Locations - Malta

Live casinos and online casinos in general are perfectly legal in Malta, which is one of the reasons why the country is a hub of the live dealer gaming market. In fact, the success of live dealer studios in Malta is closely linked to the country’s robust regulatory framework.

Let’s examine Maltese gambling laws and how they relate to live dealer studios and live gambling in general.

Gambling Laws & Regulations

Online gambling was first mentioned by Maltese law in 2001 when the Lotteries and Other Games Act was initially passed. This act established the MGA as we know it today, outlining its duties, powers, and responsibilities. It also outlined the framework for remote gambling regulation that largely remains in effect to this day.

However, the Act was later revised in August 2018 as a result of a legislative and regulatory overhaul of the previous Maltese gaming legislation. While the key goals and principles of the regulations remain the same, the Gaming Act of 2018 consolidated the regulation of all gaming in the country and its territorial waters. Before that point, online gaming and land-based casinos were regulated under different guidelines.

Under these laws, gambling operators can only offer their services to Maltese residents if they own an MGA license. To obtain a license, the operator must adhere to strict policies of transparency, fairness, customer protection, and responsible gambling. Additionally, the law ensures licenses are only issued to respectable and financially stable parties.

The law also ensures that all games, gaming products, slot machines, and other props must be certified and checked by the authority. As a result, many top-notch game providers are also licensed under the MGA, ensuring a level of quality and provable fairness.

Another important feature of Malta’s gambling laws is that it recognises (and is recognised by) the gambling authorities of all EU states. This is another reason why Malta is a popular destination for the headquarters of many gambling companies, including both operators and software providers.

Licensing Authorities and Procedures

All gambling activity in Malta is overseen and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA.) The Gaming Act of 2018 grants this organization exclusive rights to issue licenses, regulate operators, and enforce the rules and guidelines outlined by local gambling legislation.

According to the MGA’s public statements, its responsibilities include:

• Protection of minors and vulnerable persons, while promoting responsible gaming in a safe environment
• Licensing and regulation of gaming operators
• Guidance and cooperation at all stages of the license application process
• Protection of player funds, ensuring that all deposits and withdrawals are secure and enforceable
• Ensuring the integrity of games and gaming devices, via audits and independent testing facilities to ensure the randomness of results of all games of chance.
• Monitoring of licensee activities to ensure compliance
• Safeguarding of player rights, via investigation of complaints concerning the licensees on behalf of the players
• Monitoring of activities to keep gaming free from criminal activities
• Oversight of cryptocurrency transactions under its DLT sandbox and permanent DLT policy, ensuring virtual-asset operators meet AML/KYC, audit and fairness standards.

These duties and powers are standard these days in most jurisdictions where gambling is legal. However, the Gaming Act of 2001 was one of the most robust and comprehensive regulations addressing internet casinos in the world when it was first passed. This established the Maltese gambling legal framework as one of the most reliable and forward-thinking in the industry at a time when most countries failed to address the growing need for regulating online gambling.

That’s why so many online casinos focused on Europe are primarily licensed in Malta. Not only are the regulations clearer and more effective than in many other places, but the license also gives operators access to almost every market within the EU.

Licensing Requirements for Operators and Studios

The key components of Spain’s regulations are designed to promote fairness, protect customers, and only allow reputable operations to run in the country.

Online gambling companies, including both casino operators and software providers, have to meet several compliance requirements before acquiring an MGA license. The most important requirements include:

• AML (Anti-Money Laundering) policies – Operators must implement comprehensive protocols to combat shady practices such as money laundering. These protocols often ensure transparency regarding how money is funnelled through the entire operation, from the game providers and casinos to the end-users.
• KYC (Know Your Customer) protocols – Operators also have to adhere to strict rules when it comes to verifying the identity of their customers. This involves ensuring a player’s legal age and identity before allowing them to gamble, as well as keeping that information private.
• Fair gaming practices – Game providers have to certify their products, ensuring fairness and transparency. For example, RNG-based games like slots have to be tested by third-party authorities. Live casino tables and studios are also often subjected to audits that oversee fairness and result transparency.
• Responsible Gambling measures – Licensees must provide tools for players to set deposit limits, self-exclusion programs, and access support for gambling-related issues. Additionally, they must meet certain norms when it comes to informing their users about the risks of gambling.
• Data Protection and Security – Operators must adhere to data protection laws to safeguard player information. Much like many other elements of Spain-based gambling businesses, these safety measures are regularly audited, and failing to uphold them can have serious consequences.
• Monitoring – Transparency is further ensured through the enforcement of certain operator activities, such as regular standardised reports about financial transactions, player behaviour, and more.
• License costs – Like in most legal jurisdictions across the globe, maintaining an ongoing gambling license in Spain involves regular fee payments. Moreover, companies have to account for license renewal costs, a regular gambling tax on gross gambling revenue, VAT, and so on.

Live Casino Studio Locations in Malta

There are several well-known developers which have live studios in Malta, the first of these being NetEnt (NetEnt was acquired by Evolution in November, 2020). This Swedish company has been in business since 1996, although its live casino offerings became available in 2013. The first item from Netent was Live Roulette, but since then, the offering has expanded to incorporate Live Blackjack and Live Common Draw Blackjack.

The second of the suppliers offering casino studios in Malta is Evolution. This developer hosts studios in both Latvia and Malta, providing the developer with a significant extra capacity. Malta is home to the company’s international dealer teams, providing the many native speaking dealer tables. Evolution Gaming’s Maltese studio provides Live Roulette, Live Blackjack, Live Baccarat, Live Casino Hold’em and Live Three Card Poker as its offerings, as well as a number of game shows and speciality products.

Authentic Gaming and Playtech are also noted for listing Malta as one of their locations. However, we don’t know whether these locations include studios or not. Moreover, there is currently no information available on which games are streamed from these locations.