The Malta Gaming Authority‘s half-year 2016 report published this week has some interesting numbers, including:
* Employment within Malta’s gaming industry increased by 31 percent year-on-year in the first six months of 2016;
* The island’s online gambling industry employed an estimated 6,150 people as at end June this year;
* The sector contributed 12 percent of Malta’s total economic value added;
* There are 490 gaming licences in issue and 257 gaming companies in operation….in the first six months of 2014, those figures were 414 and 271 respectively;
* Tax revenues from the gaming sector amounted to Euro 28 million, or 4.6 percent of the government’s total indirect tax intake;
* Visits to casinos increased by 12.2 percent, but gamblers spent 11 percent less, bringing gaming revenue per visit down by 22 percent;
* Spending on lotteries was up, reversing 2015’s decline;
* The number of active accounts in remote gaming rose by an average of 31 percent year-on-year.
The Authority remains bullish and expects the sector to maintain a strong performance in 2017.
The FY 2016 report will be released around May 2017.