Malta ‘too small’ for sports betting liberalisation

Reacting to the news that Finance Minister Tonio Fenech is set to liberalise the sports betting licence, a number of lotto receivers speaking to MaltaToday expressed the general feeling that Malta’s market would not sustain such liberalisation.

“Malta’s market is already too small and already the business is in decline,” lotto receiver Christian Muscat said.

Another lotto receiver, who preferred to remain anonymous, expressed the same sentiment, saying that liberalistion would make them unfeasible.

“We don’t have the revenue that generates enough income to be able to compete with gambling houses. As it is today, it’s already a struggle.”

The lotto receivers also questioned whether a study has been conducted before government chose to go ahead with the new gaming regulations. Today, Maltco operates the national lotteries and sports betting. But with the new regulations, the new operator will not have exclusivity on the sports betting, although it would still be entitled for a licence.

The Finance Ministry defended the new regulations, saying that sports betting had long been liberalised in the online gaming sector. But the lotto receivers say online gaming cannot be compared to sports betting sold in shops:

“The online clientele is different from our clientele – ours come to us while the others remain at home playing on their computer,” Joseph Farrugia said.

The owners argue that the liberalisation would eventually lead to the opening of more betting houses – despite government saying it would be regulated by law. Lotto receivers are of the opinion that, despite law and regulations, more licences would mean more players and more businesses that would want to make money out of the sector.

Other receivers questioned what type of revenue government expects to generate from the liberalisation: “What type of revenue does government expect to generate from such a sensitive sector?”

According to the lotto receivers, government already receives around 20% from each sale they make.

The Finance Ministry said the national lottery license allows for fixed odds betting sold through authorised national lottery resellers, while online gaming operators licensed by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority or licensed in any other European Economic Area jurisdiction can offer online sports betting in Malta.

“It should be noted that the concept that sports betting could be offered in Malta through different means is not new, as indeed the gaming legislation was such from the very first day,” the Ministry’s spokesperson said.

“Any such discrimination would be prohibited under EU legislation.”

Lotto receivers and the president of the Lotto Receivers Union, Alfred Muscat, say Maltese nationals are excluded from participating in online gaming that is registered in Malta.He also added that this was the belief of the union, also through the last meeting they had with the LGA.

Muscat explained that such sites require the participants to sign up with their ID card number, whereby the system would immediately prohibit access to the Maltese player.

But according to the Finance Ministry, this is incorrect: “The Lotteries and Other Games Act (2001) regulates gaming, including online gaming whereby any Maltese citizen – provided the citizen over the age of 18 – can play on both Maltese licensed online gaming sites and on sites licensed in the EEA.”