One of the world’s principal online gambling licensing bodies, the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta (LGA) has already issued more than 335 licenses to 250 operators. In 2008 the online gambling sector of Malta paid 5.6 million Euros in gaming duties while in 2009 it paid 19 million Euro.
Nine months ago Reuben Portanier took over as chief executive officer of the LGA and gave his first interview shortly before the upcoming IGE-ICEi exposition in London. In this interview with The Sunday Times newspaper Portanier stated that over half the exhibition would be occupied by companies with a Maltese connection.
Portanier explained the importance of operators obtaining a complete understanding of the business environment before establishing their businesses in Malta as it was usual practice for operators to make inquiries only about information connected to legal and technical matters and taxation. He stated that Maltese audit firms, telecommunication providers, law firms, real estate agents and other operators would therefore also have a presence at the exhibition.
He added that it was a major challenge for the LGA to keep up with dynamic technology developments in the future and that socially responsible gambling was also very important to them.
Before Portanier took charge of the LGA there was a huge backlog in license processing and it has now set a target to speed up processing by 40%.
Portanier was also confident that despite the global economic conditions, the number of licenses being issued would continue to increase.