Malta triples its gaming tax on casino revenue generated from local players on 1 October, when differentiated rates by game type replace the uniform 5% charge that has applied since 2018.
The change comes from amendments to the Gaming Tax Regulations published on 1 April 2026 through Legal Notices 84 and 86 of 2026. The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA) administer the new framework jointly, and both the gaming tax and the VAT treatment of gambling services move on the same date.
What changes on 1 October
Since 2018, the Gaming Tax Regulations have applied a single 5% rate to gaming revenue generated from players in Malta, regardless of what the operator offers. From 1 October, that single rate splits along game type:
- Type 1 gaming services, which cover casino games, games of chance played against the house including random number generator content, and lotteries: 15% of aggregate gaming revenue
- Type 2, Type 3 and Type 4 gaming services, which cover fixed-odds betting, peer-to-peer products such as poker, bingo and betting exchanges, and controlled skill games: 10% of aggregate gaming revenue
- Controlled gaming premises: 5%
- Lawful junkets and junket events: 5%
For a Type 1 operator with Malta-facing revenue, the rate rises from 5% to 15%. For a sportsbook or a poker room, it doubles to 10%. The rates apply identically to land-based and online operators offering qualifying gaming to players in Malta, which removes the distinction that sat behind the old device-based charges.
The device levy goes, a studio levy arrives
The separate levy on gaming devices is abolished and folded into the single gaming tax, classified by game type and mode of offer. Land-based operators previously faced a gaming tax plus a per-device charge, which meant two calculations and two filing obligations for one revenue stream. That becomes one.
The amendments also introduce a €3,000 annual studio broadcasting levy on holders of a critical gaming supply authorisation who use studio premises to film or broadcast gaming services. The previous studio levy was €500, so live casino suppliers running studios in Malta face a sixfold increase on that line.
Who the change actually reaches
The gaming tax applies to revenue from players in Malta, not to an MGA licensee’s global book. Most of the roughly 300 operators licensed in Malta serve players elsewhere in Europe and beyond, and that revenue sits outside the scope of the gaming tax. The operators exposed to the 15% rate are those with a real Malta-facing casino business, including the land-based casinos and the domestic online offering.
The amendments also change the test for when remote gaming revenue is taxable in Malta. Taxability turns on whether the player is established, has a permanent address, or usually resides in Malta, rather than on physical presence at the moment of play. Operators relying on geolocation alone to segment Malta-facing revenue will need to check that their player data supports a residence-based test, because the two produce different numbers for tourists and for Malta residents playing abroad.
VAT changes on the same date
The second half of the package covers VAT. The scope of the VAT exemption for gambling services is clarified, with specific attention to sports betting and casino offerings, and operators gain a right to recover eligible input VAT costs. The MGA describes the aim as supporting the neutrality of VAT for gaming operators. For a supplier with significant Maltese input costs, recoverable VAT offsets part of the higher gaming tax.
The two measures work against each other on cash flow. An operator with Malta-facing casino revenue pays more gaming tax and recovers input VAT it previously could not. The net position depends on the revenue mix and the Maltese cost base, and it will not be the same for a domestic land-based casino as for a B2B studio supplier.
Malta’s position as a licensing hub
Malta has the largest concentration of gaming licences in Europe, and the fiscal treatment of non-Malta revenue is central to that. These amendments do not change it. The competitive pressure on Malta comes from national licensing regimes in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden that move operators onto local licences, and from rival hubs. Gibraltar’s regulator has publicly rejected claims that its own jurisdiction is in terminal decline, an argument that only exists because operators now weigh hubs against each other more carefully than they did in 2018.
The simplification argument is the stronger one here. Consolidating the device levy into a single tax classified by game type gives operators one calculation and one liability where they previously managed a multi-layered obligation. That matters to finance teams even where the headline rate goes up. Other European regulators are making adjustments of their own on timelines that stretch further out, with Italy weighing an extension of retail gambling licences to 2029.
What operators need in place
The framework was published on 1 April and takes effect on 1 October, which gave the industry six months to prepare. Operators with Malta-facing revenue need their reporting segmented by game type before the first filing period under the new rates, because a mixed casino and sportsbook operation now has two rates running against one revenue stream. Type 1 content sitting inside a product that an operator has reported as betting will be taxed at 15%, and the classification sits with the licensee to get right.
The full text of both Legal Notices and the MGA’s own summary of the changes are available in the Authority’s notice on the changes to Malta’s VAT and gaming tax frameworks. The MGA has said it will issue further guidance, and the first filings under the new rates will show how operators have read the game-type classifications.
Source: Malta Gaming Authority
