License applications in Malta fell by 34% in 2020

According to the latest data published by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), the number of online gambling companies seeking a Maltese license has fallen by 34% in 2020.

The number of license applications fell to 58, compared to 89 in 2019. This is also 79% less than in 2018, when MGA received 209 applications.

However, the number of licenses issued by MGA rose by 28% over the same period to 68, or 314 overall, representing a 10% annual increase.

The number of B2C gaming licenses increased to 196 for 2020, and the number of B2B provider licenses grew by 32% year-on-year to 122.

In addition, the number of people directly employed in the island's online gambling industry has grown by 15% during 2020 to 7,557.

The total number of active player accounts with operators licensed to Malta rose to 36,196,001 while the number of new player accounts also increased to 15,938,919 during 2020.

Between January and December 2020, online players set over 8.4 million limits across four different limit categories, with deposit limits being the most popular at 81.2%.

Malta-licensed online operators contributed €50m to MGA in 2020 in compensation.

MGA also identified an increase of 245% in regulatory warnings issued to operators for non-compliance, to 69 in 2020.

The MGA has committed to strengthening its regulatory approach in 2021 with an increased focus on improving compliance procedures, responsible gaming, AML and anti-match-fixing standards.

“In 2021, we plan to make a number of changes and improvements to our CRM system, as well as our internal portal and data repository,” the MGA said in a statement.

“These improvements will allow us to provide a stable and authoritative regulatory environment, ensuring that we are as efficient as possible and remain flexible enough not to stifle innovation, whether it be startups or established players,” he added.

Discussing the performance of the MGA in 2020, CEO Carl Brinkat said: “2020 will no doubt be remembered for the challenges the pandemic has presented us with and I am proud of our people who have worked tirelessly to ensure we continue to perform the functions we need. in law.

“Keeping ship resilient in a challenging year serves as a solid foundation for our future with a renewed commitment to continue building on the positives and correcting our shortcomings to reach new heights in our regulatory approach,” Brinkat added.