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THE 2027 EDITION

i G A M I N G CA PI TA L . M T

2027 O F F I C I A L PA R T N E R S

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We bring you the latest in iGaming

2027 EDITION CONTENTS

WHEN SCAM GAMBLING LOOKS REAL

Fake regulatory seals and increasingly convincing casino clones are putting players at risk. How can consumers spot the warning signs?

20 THE COST OF EUROPE’S GAMBLING DIVIDE

As Europe’s online gambling rules grow increasingly fragmented, we examine the legal and commercial consequences for Maltalicensed operators navigating competing national regimes and cross-border claims.

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THE ECOSYSTEM KEEPING MALTA’S GAMING SECTOR AHEAD OF THE GAME

GamingMalta CEO Ivan Filletti joins senior industry figures to examine the institutional support that continues to underpin Malta’s position as the home of gaming.

LIDION BANK: A NEW CHAPTER FOR iGAMING FINANCE

Lidion Bank CEO Jonathan Bellizzi examines how specialist banking expertise, real-time financial services and a risk-based approach are reshaping the relationship between banks and operators.

40 RESIDENCE IN MALTA AND THE FREEDOM TO SAY YES

Residence and citizenship advisor Yakof Agius outlines the routes available to iGaming professionals looking to live, work and build a longer-term future in Malta.

79 iGAMING CALENDAR

46 THE iGAMING JOBS RESET: INSIDE THE SHIFT IN CONTENT AND CREATIVE ROLES

As AI reshapes affiliate publishing, we analyse what the shift means for creative jobs, essential skills and iGaming’s future talent pipeline.

From Malta’s major industry gatherings to conferences and summits across the globe, our calendar highlights the key dates for the international gaming sector in the year ahead.

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2027 EDITION CONTENTS

54 THE RISE OF ESPORTS AS AN EVENTS TOURISM NICHE IN MALTA

Malta’s esports ecosystem is expanding. Industry leaders examine whether that momentum can support a sustainable events tourism niche.

BEYOND RECRUITMENT: BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS FOR BUSINESS GROWTH

THE HOTEL THAT’S NOT FOR EVERYONE

ME Malta by Meliá General Manager Neal Debono reveals how a deliberately niche approach, tailored service and high-level personalisation are helping the hotel carve out a distinct position among iGaming’s C-suite.

GCS Malta’s Emanuel Zammit discusses the company’s growth and why specialist knowledge and long-term client relationships remain central to its approach.

88 THE NEW RULES OF LIVE CASINO

Operators and suppliers discuss how branding, personalisation, speed, entertainment and AI are reshaping live casino, while keeping the human interaction that still defines the format.

A STATEMENT OF INTENT

Gentoo Media opens the doors to its new headquarters, where flexible working, employee well-being and spaces designed for greater collaboration shape the company’s next chapter.

94 ARE PREDICTION MARKETS MALTA’S NEXT REGULATORY FRONTIER?

Industry and regulatory experts explore where prediction markets fit within Malta’s existing gaming and financial services frameworks.

83 THE LEADERSHIP VALUE OF CLOSURE

Executive coach Marion Gamel considers why good leadership should pay as much attention to endings as beginnings.

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2027 EDITION FOREWORD

PUBLISHER Content House Quad Central, Q2, Level 2, Central Business District, CBD 1040 Tel: 2132 0713 info@contenthouse.mt www.contenthouse.mt EDITOR Ramona Depares BRAND SALES MANAGER Wanaha Camilleri CORPORATE SALES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Matthew Mario Borg OPERATIONS AND CLIENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGER Sue Ann Pisani OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION EXECUTIVE Daniel Sant CREATIVE DIRECTOR & DESIGN Nicholas Cutajar

Content House Ltd would like to thank all the protagonists, contributors, advertisers and the project team that have made this publication a success. Articles appearing in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Content House Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. iGaming Capital is distributed to iGaming companies operating in Malta and to a wide network of stakeholders connected to the iGaming industry. These include leading law firms, financial services providers, and business consultancy firms that support the sector, as well as local auditors, accountants and accountancy practices. The publication also reaches government ministries, entities and departments, along with IT and software development companies, recruitment agencies, business centres, car showrooms, yacht marinas, and architecture firms – all of which play a role in servicing or supporting the iGaming ecosystem.

Growth in a changing market It’s a defining time for the gaming industry in Malta. The data shows that the sector itself continues to grow. The latest Malta Gaming Authority report reveals that Gross Value Added rose by 3.5 per cent in 2025, from €1.374 billion in 2024 to €1.422 billion, with gaming accounting for around 6.3 per cent of Malta’s economic output. Employment with MGA-licensed operators grew by 4.8 per cent year on year, reaching 15,039 FTEs at the end of 2025, up from 14,357 in 2024. Within online gaming specifically, employment rose by 4.7 per cent, with an increase of almost 630 jobs. The growth came overwhelmingly from staff working in Malta for MGA-licensed groups on activities not directly covered by the MGA licence, a clear indication that the jurisdiction is becoming a broader operational base rather than simply a licensing jurisdiction. And yet, behind the growth figures, the industry is also shedding jobs. Redundancies have become an increasingly familiar feature of the market, particularly across creative departments and the affiliate space. This edition of iGaming Capital looks at that contradiction head-on, asking what is really driving change across the jobs market, product development and the wider operating model of the sector. The increasing pressures created by a fragmented European regulatory landscape also remain a major concern for many working within the sector. In this edition, we examine the growing cost and complexity of operating across multiple jurisdictions and the extent to which regulatory divergence is influencing decisions around expansion, investment and market strategy. Alongside this, we look at the technologies and operational models changing how companies build products, reach players and structure their teams, including AI-driven efficiencies, the evolution of B2B services and the changing live casino landscape.

Ramona Depares

In addition to its extensive free distribution network, iGaming Capital is available for purchase at leading newsagents across Malta.

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2027 EDITION COVER STORY

T H E CO ST O F

Europe’s gambling

DIVID E

Photo by Nelson_A_Ishikawa - iStock

As Europe’s gambling market becomes increasingly fragmented, Owain Flanders speaks to regulatory experts about the impact of national licensing, the aftermath of Article 56A and what the changing landscape means for Malta’s future as an international gaming hub.

t may be an inherently digital industry, but Europe’s gambling market is becoming increasingly tied to national borders. An operator wanting to serve customers across the EU now faces a patchwork of licensing regimes, tax rules, and regulatory requirements. For Malta, which built much of its iGaming success around companies

operating internationally from the island, that fragmentation poses an awkward question: what is the value of being a European gaming hub when access to Europe itself is becoming increasingly restricted? Few issues illustrate that tension better than Article 56A of Malta’s Gaming Act. Introduced

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through Bill 55 in 2023, the provision concerns circumstances in which legal action or foreign judgements against Malta-licensed operators conflict with Malta’s gaming framework. Malta has maintained that it does not create new grounds for rejecting European judgements, but rather codifies the island’s existing public policy.

Dr Terence Cassar, partner at GTG Advocates, sees that distinction as important. “Yes, I do believe that Article 56A was necessary, but at the same time, no,” he says. “When Article 56A was actually promulgated, effectively, from a Maltese law perspective, nothing really changed. It simply codified the existing legal and public policy position.”

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WHY MALTA DREW A LINE To understand why Malta enshrined that position in legislation, Dr Joseph Borg, partner at WH Partners, points to the wave of player claims faced by gaming companies, particularly involving Austria. Players who had lost money with operators not locally licensed sought to recover those losses through national courts. That approach attracted claims from businesses and lawyers who, according to Dr Borg, sometimes acquired claims from players before pursuing operators themselves. His assessment of the practice is unapologetically strong. “What I would call ‘institutionalised extortion’ against these gaming companies was upheld by some courts,” he says. For Dr Borg, the key distinction lies between such claims and genuine complaints about an operator’s conduct. He stresses that Article 56A does not prevent claims where an operator has breached Maltese rules, including player-protection requirements. “If there is a genuine claim, this article will not affect it,” he says. The European Commission, however, has challenged Malta’s position. It sent Malta a letter of formal notice in June 2025, arguing that Article 56A could infringe EU rules on the recognition and enforcement of judgements between Member States. The Malta Gaming Authority responded that the provision reflects the existing public-policy exception under EU law and does not provide Malta-licensed operators with blanket protection from judgements elsewhere in Europe. That disagreement remains unresolved. Dr Cassar says several questions touching on the issue have

reached the Court of Justice of the European Union, but a definitive answer on Article 56A itself remains elusive. “I think the likelihood is that the uncertainty will remain, at least for the foreseeable future,” he says. 27 COUNTRIES, MULTIPLE LICENCES Article 56A may be the legal flashpoint, but the underlying issue is much bigger. Online gambling has never benefited from the EU-wide passporting regime found in parts of financial services. As national markets have developed their own licensing systems, operators wanting broad European coverage have increasingly had to secure licences country by country. “Nowadays, operators are obtaining licences from each individual Member State,” Dr Borg says. For established

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2027 EDITION COVER STORY

“UNLESS THERE IS POLITICAL WILL FROM THE MEMBER STATES, I DON’T THINK ANYTHING WILL CHANGE OR IMPROVE.” Dr Joseph Borg

groups, that is an additional cost of doing business. For smaller operators, he believes it can fundamentally change the economics of entering the market. “For an operator to take business from across Europe today, it might need 24 or 25 different licences. For a startup, that’s simply not feasible.”

MALTA AFTER THE SINGLE-LICENCE ERA For Malta, the change does not necessarily mean losing its place in the industry. Dr Cassar argues that the implications are different depending on whether the discussion concerns B2C operators or B2B suppliers.

The result, in his view, is a market increasingly geared towards consolidation. Smaller businesses can build positions in individual markets, but the cost of expanding across Europe makes competing directly with the largest groups considerably harder.

Article 56A is primarily a B2C issue, and he accepts that fragmentation creates a challenge for Malta on that side of the industry. But operators still need somewhere to base businesses that hold licences across multiple markets.

“What we’re therefore seeing is operators trying to make money and become leaders in niche markets, and then being sold to one of the big operators,” he says. “I’d rather have smaller operators competing with big ones, taking market share from them and creating healthy competition.” Dr Borg argues that fragmentation has also pushed some activity beyond Europe, reducing European regulators’ reach, rather than necessarily stopping the business. “We’ve moved parts of the industry outside Europe, we have less control over them, and money is flowing outside Europe,” he says.

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“From Malta, you can have a cohesive hub for your operations where you are effectively aggregating gaming licences,” he says. “Nowadays, given how fragmented the situation is, that aggregation shouldn’t be underestimated.” The B2B sector, meanwhile, offers considerably more flexibility, and Dr Cassar says Malta has already shifted much of its focus towards it. The harder question is whether the fragmentation that weakened the original cross-border model has already done most of its damage. If Article 56A were eventually found incompatible with EU law, Dr Cassar says “it would, by all means, be a blow.” But

2027 EDITION COVER STORY

he believes the more significant shift has already taken place as operators have closed certain markets, changed structures or, in some cases, left Malta. “The damage has already happened,” he says. IS HARMONISATION STILL POSSIBLE? Reversing that trend would require something EU Member States have repeatedly avoided: meaningful harmonisation of gambling regulation. Dr Borg sees little indication of the political will required. Member States have their own regulatory and financial interests, and gambling has historically remained outside the kind of passporting system used elsewhere in the single market. “Unless there is political will from the Member States, I don’t think anything will change or improve,” he says. Dr Cassar, however, is slightly more optimistic. “Gambling has always been a hot potato that nobody could really agree upon,” he says. “But nowadays, I have more hope.” He points to crypto as an example of how quickly a fragmented European market can move towards common rules once sufficient political momentum exists. Within a relatively short period, he notes, the EU moved towards a framework allowing authorised crypto businesses to provide services across Member States. “By analogy, I see no good reason why that shouldn’t also happen with gambling,” he says. Until then,

Photo by J J Galea

Malta faces a different European gambling market from the one on which its early success was built. The island can still provide the licence, expertise, infrastructure and home from which international gaming businesses operate. What it can no longer offer so easily is the thing that once made that proposition particularly powerful: Europe through a single door.

“I THINK THE LIKELIHOOD IS THAT THE UNCERTAINTY [ON ARTICLE 56A] WILL REMAIN, AT LEAST FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.” Dr Terence Cassar

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2027 EDITION RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING

scam gambling real WH E N

LOO KS

Are scam gambling sites damaging Malta’s licence brand? A recent rise in platforms using a fake Malta Gaming Authority seal has left players exposed and raised questions about how easily consumers can distinguish between licensed operators and sites merely pretending to be one.

he world of online casinos is based on trust. Lose that, and you’ll find players deserting a brand faster than you can say “jackpot”. However, it’s also true that cyberspace offers ample opportunities to bad actors seeking to take advantage of a specific niche, and online gambling has historically attracted its fair share of such examples. For a while, tightening regulations and increased enforcement appeared to put paid to fraudulent sites but, as technology and AI tools continue to evolve at a mind-boggling rate, the scourge of scam sites is rearing its head once again. Scam gambling sites – or scambling sites, to use the term reportedly coined by American journalist Brian Krebs – have flooded social media platforms and some less discerning affiliate websites during the past 12 months. “The scam begins with deceptive ads posted on social media that claim the wagering sites are working in partnership with popular social media personalities, such as Mr. Beast,” the journalist writes, before going on to describe on his cyber security portal Krebs On Security how the adverts offer prospective players an unusually Photo by Yuliya Taba - iStock

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2027 EDITION RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING

THE SAFEST WAY TO VERIFY WHETHER A WEBSITE IS AUTHORISED IS TO CONSULT THE MGA’S OFFICIAL REGISTERS. 027

2027 EDITION RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING

high sign-up bonus running into thousands of US dollars. Jurisdictions like Malta, which have built strong international goodwill and a reputation for standing no such nonsense have a lot to lose. The reason? A good number of these sites sport fake seals from regulators like the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) or other jurisdictions like Curaçao. The way scambling sites operate is sophisticated enough to make spotting them tricky, even for players who may be on point with their due diligence. Players who take up the offer actually find the balance added to their account, further reinforcing the aura of legitimacy. The problems only start when someone attempts to withdraw their winnings. Krebs reports how, at this stage, the player will be asked for a crypto deposit to get their account verified. The deposit leads to more requests for money, with many players succumbing to the sunk cost fallacy and continuing to fork out money in the hope their winnings will be honoured. After enough payments, the victim is blocked from accessing the platform and left with no means of redress. “Any ‘winnings’ displayed by these gaming sites are a complete fantasy, and players who deposit cryptocurrency funds will never see that money again,” Krebs cautions. So how do these fraudsters continue to get away with it? MGA CEO Charles Mizzi explains how the sites often seek to create the appearance of legitimacy. “The Authority has observed a pattern of websites impersonating or closely resembling legitimate MGA-licensed operators. This may involve the use of similar branding, website layouts, domain names or other identifying features that could lead consumers to believe they are interacting with a licensed operator when, in fact, they are not. These practices are designed to create the appearance of legitimacy and may mislead consumers into believing they are engaging with a licensed operator.” This, Mr Mizzi says, underscores the importance of players verifying an operator’s licensing status through official sources rather than relying solely on claims made on a website.

Photo by Michael Calleja - Studio Konnect

The safest way to verify whether a website is authorised, he emphasises, is to consult the MGA’s official registers. The MGA’s Licensee Register allows users to search by licensee name, authorisation status, gaming service or even website URL, making the process a fast and simple one. The register provides key information about the operator and its authorisation, and clicking on the company seal even gives access to the operator’s Dynamic Seal of Authorisation, which provides additional information directly from the MGA’s systems.

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2027 EDITION RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING

“Before registering an account or depositing funds, players should ensure that the website URL they are using corresponds to the information contained within the relevant MGA register. Making use of these tools helps players make informed decisions and provides greater confidence that they are engaging with an operator that is actually subject to the Authority’s regulatory oversight,” Mr Mizzi continues. George Sarris, CEO of HostingB2B, a Cyprus-based managed hosting and infrastructure provider serving iGaming and regulated industries, echoes these words. “Start with the regulator’s register, not the badges on the site, and confirm that the exact domain you are on is the licensed one – clones copy everything except that,” he says, adding that there’s another aspect to scam sites that few consider. This is identity theft, and Mr Sarris cautions players to be especially careful when uploading documents. “For many scam operations, the real product is your passport scan and selfie, which resell for more than your deposit is worth. Never upload ID to a site you have not verified independently, and never send documents over email or chat.” If you only realise that the site isn’t legit after you’ve uploaded your documents, Mr Sarris’s advice is to move fast. “Contact your bank or payment provider

to block further transactions, change any reused passwords, enable twofactor authentication on the affected accounts, and preserve evidence – URLs, screenshots, transaction records, correspondence.” He adds that you should also file a report with the cybercrime unit, the regulator, and the site’s hosting provider. “Legitimate infrastructure companies act quickly on properly evidenced abuse reports. Finally, treat any ‘recovery agent’ who approaches you afterwards as a second scam. Victim lists are resold, and the follow-up fraud is often more damaging than the original loss,” he adds. Sobering words, particularly considering that the MGA continues to identify unauthorised URLs that make false or misleading references to the Authority, its licences or its licensees. Mr Mizzi adds that this remains one of the regulator’s active areas of focus. “While the number of URLs identified has varied from year to year, the issue remains persistent and continues to require active monitoring and enforcement. As detailed in our Annual Reports, the MGA identified 49 URLs containing misleading information in 2023 and 83 in 2024. In 2025, a further 42 URLs containing fraudulent references to the Authority or its licensees were identified and added to the publicly available list of unauthorised URLs,” he states.

“THE AUTHORITY HAS OBSERVED A PATTERN OF WEBSITES IMPERSONATING OR CLOSELY RESEMBLING LEGITIMATE MGA-LICENSED OPERATORS.” Charles Mizzi

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“FOR MANY SCAM OPERATIONS, THE REAL PRODUCT IS YOUR PASSPORT SCAN AND SELFIE, WHICH RESELL FOR MORE THAN YOUR DEPOSIT.” George Sarris

There’s a silver lining: the MGA can (and does) take action against entities that falsely claim to hold an MGA licence or otherwise misrepresent their relationship with the Authority, regardless of where they are based. Even so, the risks to players remain significant. “Because they operate outside of the regulatory framework, they are not subject to the safeguards applicable to licensed operators, including responsible gambling measures, player fund protection requirements and regulatory oversight,” Mr Mizzi states, adding that players should also remain alert to signs a platform may be a scambling site. A professional-looking website, familiar branding or claims of regulatory approval should not, on their own, be taken as evidence that a platform is legitimate. What if it’s more a case of attempting to lock the stable after the horses have bolted? In that case, the matter should also be reported to the MGA through its official contact channels. “This is practical consumer guidance and should be treated separately from any regulatory assessment by the MGA. Needless to say, if there are indications that a website is misusing the MGA’s name, seal, licence number or other references, the matter should also be reported to the Authority via the official contact channels,” Mr Mizzi says, adding that when such reports are being assessed, the Authority also follows an established procedure, formulated following discussions with the Malta Police Force, whereby such sites are added to the public list of

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unauthorised URLs. However, recovering any deposits is likely to prove to be more difficult. “In practice, many of these websites are scams and it is extremely difficult to identify the individuals behind them, as they are often based in non-cooperative jurisdictions. As a result, the police are often unable to proceed further in such cases. Police reports are generally only filed where the activity can be linked to a Maltese legal entity. For this reason, public warnings and consumer awareness remain important elements of the Authority’s response.” Mr Mizzi concludes with a word of advice: anyone finding themselves on a doubtfullooking platform should pause to verify before proceeding. This is the only secure method that allows consumers to confirm whether an operator is genuinely authorised by the MGA, or whether it’s trying to unlawfully part you with your money.

2027 EDITION INTERVIEW

THE

ecosystem

KEE PI N G

Malta’s gaming sector A HE A D O F T H E G A M E

GamingMalta CEO Ivan Filletti explains what continues to set Malta apart, where the sector’s next opportunities lie and why the country remains a compelling base for some of the industry’s most influential players.

alta’s gaming sector has moved well beyond its early reputation as a promising emerging industry. Today, it is not only a major contributor to the economy, but also a source of highly skilled employment and an established international ecosystem that continues to attract a global portfolio of operators, suppliers, technology companies and creative talent to the island.

term. This direction is reflected both in the highly successful Make It in Malta campaign, which GamingMalta is implementing as a long-term initiative, and in the wider national priorities of Malta Vision 2050, the country’s long-term national development strategy, which recognises gaming as an important pillar of a resilient, knowledge-driven economy. “The figures show real, sustained growth across the ecosystem. Data from the Malta Gaming Authority’s annual report shows that Malta’s gaming sector generated more than €1.42 billion in Gross Value Added in 2025, an increase of 3.5 per cent over the previous year, while employment among MGA-licensed companies rose by 4.8 per cent to reach 15,039 full-time equivalent positions. That employment figure has grown by more than

That position has been built over time but, as GamingMalta CEO Ivan Filletti states, it is certainly not being taken for granted. Recent years have seen competition between jurisdictions intensifying and, as the industry continues to evolve, Malta is strengthening the conditions that allow companies not only to establish a presence here, but to grow, innovate and build for the long

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“MALTA’S GAMING SECTOR GENERATED MORE THAN €1.42 BILLION IN GROSS VALUE ADDED IN 2025.” 12 per cent in just two years, showing that gaming continues to create economic value and career opportunities for Malta,” Mr Filletti starts off.

Photo by Inigo Taylor

The sector’s economic impact is the result of an ecosystem that has been built over decades and continues to evolve. Malta remains home to established international brands, while continuing to attract new investment and expertise. The strength lies not simply in the number of companies based here, but in the depth of the network that has developed around them.

The inauguration of the offices of Light & Wonder. Photographed from the left: Simon Johnson, CEO, iGaming Light & Wonder; Ivan Filletti, CEO GamingMalta; and Alistair Dalli, Chairperson, GamingMalta

“Malta Vision 2050 officially placed gaming among the high-value industries central to Malta’s future economic growth, and the sector is responding very well. The challenge now is to build on that success by supporting innovation, developing talent and making sure we stay competitive as the international industry changes – we need to be relentless in

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our approach,” the GamingMalta CEO continues. The Make It in Malta campaign is based on a simple premise: the strongest case for the island is made by the companies that have already built successful operations here. In this spirit, we’ve seen plenty of established industry figures discuss their own positive experience of the jurisdiction at major international events including ICE, SiGMA, SBC and NEXT.io. As Mr Filletti puts it, “nothing can tell a better story than a great success story”. These include companies that arrived in Malta as relatively small operations and went on to become publicly listed international businesses, as well as major groups that have retained substantial teams and headquarters on the island for decades. Their experience lies at the heart of the campaign, showing that Malta is not simply a convenient place to obtain a licence, but a place where companies can

2027 EDITION INTERVIEW

“EMPLOYMENT AMONG MGA-LICENSED COMPANIES HAS GROWN BY MORE THAN 12 PER CENT IN JUST TWO YEARS.” establish operations, recruit internationally, and scale into new markets. The practical approach taken by institutional stakeholders has done a lot to support these efforts. At international expos, GamingMalta comes together with other key stakeholders operating within the ecosystem, such as the Malta Gaming Authority, Malta Enterprise, Identità and Bank of Valletta, giving prospective investors direct access to the organisations responsible for regulation, investment support, workforce mobility and banking. Companies considering Malta can therefore raise specific questions with the relevant institutions in one place. It is an approach that reflects one of Mr Filletti’s recurring points: the jurisdiction’s strength comes from the wider network operating around the industry and the ability of its different parts to work together. It is a view shared by Tom McGovern, COO, Flutter UK & Ireland, which operates multiple brands from the island: “Malta was the first EU Member State to create a specific regulatory framework for remote/online gambling. The Malta Gaming Authority established a successful

Photo by Carles Cardelus

licensing regime which is recognised globally and adheres to the EU regulatory standard in imposing robust compliance standards on operators. This helped establish a gaming ecosystem where operators, suppliers, technology firms and specialist professional services choose to base themselves in Malta. Malta opened doors across Europe while plenty of others were still trying to find the keys,” he says. For Mr McGovern, Malta offered a series of advantages, starting with the way it deliberately built itself into a gambling hub by combining an EU base, a dedicated regulator, predictable licensing, and a mature gaming-services ecosystem. He also refers to GamingMalta as an invaluable partner in supporting growth across the sector. And, of course, there is the talent. “Malta has become a genuine international hub for gaming, so you can build teams with people from all over the world, alongside excellent local talent. At Flutter, we are also big believers in bringing people in from outside the sector and helping them grow, so it is a very good environment for building capability. And the supporting cast is already here too, like payment providers, gaming studios, compliance specialists and verification suppliers. It means you are not trying to build an ecosystem from thin air. The infrastructure is ready to go,” he emphasises. But is it just about the favourable working conditions? Not really. Size and weather go a long way too. “The sunshine alone is a game-changer. More than 3,000 hours a year does wonders for your mood, especially if you have spent a fair chunk of your life in the UK checking the weather app with cautious optimism,” the COO

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Tom McGovern, Flutter UK & Ireland, COO

It’s an assessment echoed by others in the industry, including iGaming Light & Wonder’s CEO Simon Johnson. “Our relationship with Malta spans more than 20 years and, during that time, we have seen the island establish itself as one of the world’s leading hubs for iGaming,” he says. What began as a strategic location for the business evolved into a critical operational and commercial centre for Light & Wonder’s global iGaming operations.

quips. “Malta is small enough that nothing ever feels too far away, but it has plenty going on. There are brilliant restaurants, bars, beaches and cultural events, and four years in, we are still finding new places. It is a very social island and people are open, which makes settling in much easier. We have built a great network of friends and my wife, the children and I have really embraced the lifestyle. It feels busy and energetic and straightforward to navigate.”

“Our continued investment in Malta, including expanding our operations and growing our team, reflects the confidence we have in a place that is more than just a location. This combination of a highly skilled workforce, a respected regulatory framework, and a collaborative industry ecosystem has created an environment where businesses like ours can innovate, thrive and scale with confidence. As we continue to grow our iGaming business globally, Malta remains central to our strategy and a key part of our operational success,” he concludes.

Of course, as Mr McGovern puts it, moving country always comes with a few plot twists, and that is part of the adventure. “That said, coming from the UK, Malta gives you a very generous head start as English is widely spoken, people drive on the left, and so on.” He adds that there are many other advantages, especially for families who are relocating. “The school curriculum feels familiar enough to take the edge off. The biggest challenge for us was importing our car. It was a sequence of hurdles with forms and valuation processes, which was testing. But once we worked through it, it was fine. Malta has been fun, welcoming, full of energy and a brilliant move for us,” he reminisces.

“MALTA IS HOME TO A READY-MADE ECOSYSTEM OF PAYMENT PROVIDERS, GAMING STUDIOS, COMPLIANCE SPECIALISTS AND VERIFICATION SUPPLIERS.” 035

2027 EDITION INTERVIEW

LIDION B A NK: A

new

chapter FOR

iG A MIN G

finance

As the global iGaming sector matures into a regulated, multijurisdictional powerhouse, the legacy banking sector’s traditional reluctance to engage has paved the way for specialist credit institutions. Jonathan Bellizzi, CEO of Lidion Bank, speaks to Sarah Muscat Azzopardi about dismantling outdated prejudices, bridging European regulatory divides, and building the real-time financial architecture of tomorrow.

clarity, stronger licensing frameworks, and vastly improved transparency.

or over two decades, the relationship between mainstream European banking and the iGaming industry could be characterised, at best, as an uneasy truce. Where operators saw high-volume digital entertainment, growth and compliance, risk-averse legacy credit institutions often saw a homogeneous, high-risk sector best kept at arm’s length.

Consequently, the binary approach of legacy institutions is no longer fit for purpose. “The right question for a bank is therefore no longer simply, ‘Is this an iGaming company?’ It is, ‘Who is the operator, where is it licensed, how is it governed, which markets does it serve, and how effectively does it manage its risks?’” he states.

Yet as licensing regimes tighten, corporate governance matures, and operators scale across borders, that historic disconnect has become increasingly untenable. Operating from the heart of Europe’s gaming hub in Malta, Lidion Bank represents a fundamental shift in how credit institutions engage with the sector.

Rather than relying on sector-wide policies, Lidion Bank operates on a client-specific, risk-based model – an approach that demands domain expertise and a willingness to understand an operator’s underlying mechanics. Looking ahead, the CEO envisions a much deeper, more strategic relationship developing across the market. Operators will increasingly turn away from transactional vendors in search of longterm financial partners capable of providing safeguarding solutions, managing liquidity and treasury, and supporting cross-border expansion. In his view, “the banks that invest in understanding

“I think the fundamental change is that the industry has matured, but the way banks assess it has not always matured at the same pace,” Jonathan Bellizzi, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, observes. Historically treated as a single, inherently high-risk category, the sector, he argues, has transformed through greater regulatory

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Photo by Bernard Polidano

the sector will be best positioned to build those relationships.” While the market is crowded with payment service providers (PSPs) offering point-to-point transaction processing, Jonathan maintains that tier-one operators require a far more comprehensive foundation. A modern digital operator does not simply need money moved from one account to another, he believes; it requires a financial architecture that underpins its entire operational model. “That includes operational and safeguarding account structures, multi-currency capabilities, competitive foreign exchange, interest-bearing arrangements where appropriate, guarantees, and access to both traditional and instant payment channels,” Jonathan explains. While Lidion provides SEPA Instant, SWIFT, and bespoke clearing arrangements, he stresses that the primary differentiator lies in tailoring these tools around the client. Crucially, this demands an intimate understanding of the strict segregation between operating funds,

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“THE BANKS THAT INVEST IN UNDERSTANDING THE SECTOR WILL BE BEST POSITIONED TO BUILD LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS.”

2027 EDITION INTERVIEW

player balances, and payment processor flows. While conventional banks may offer standalone products, they frequently struggle to reconcile them with gaming-specific regulations. The differentiator, as the CEO notes, is whether an institution can bring these mechanisms together, understand the regulatory context, and adapt them to an operator’s actual commercial realities. Meanwhile, in a high-velocity industry like iGaming, speed is also of the essence – yet within banking, speed cannot come at the expense of robust oversight. For the CEO, the traditional model – in which a client submits an application and waits indefinitely without transparency – is fundamentally broken. However, he rejects the idea that compliance and commercial agility must exist in opposition. “Good compliance should make the bank more decisive because it gives us a clearer understanding of the risks we are prepared to take,” he insists. To achieve this balance, Lidion engages early in the client lifecycle. Before entering full onboarding, the bank assesses the applicant’s ownership structure, licensing footprint, target jurisdictions, product suite, and expected transaction flows. This preliminary filter ensures alignment from the outset. While the subsequent onboarding process leverages digital identity verification and registry data to eliminate administrative friction, the CEO stresses that technology cannot replace human judgement. Complex corporate structures, adverse findings, or exposure to higher-risk jurisdictions still demand enhanced scrutiny, legal opinions, and bespoke mitigations. Headquartered in Malta and passported across the EU and EEA, Lidion Bank operates at the confluence of diverging regulatory landscapes. While anti-money laundering (AML) standards are steadily harmonising across the EU, gaming regulation remains predominantly national. This creates a fragmented environment where safeguarding rules, reporting lines, and local payment flows vary substantially from one Member State to the next.

“The full benefits will come when regulatory expectations are not only strong, but also clearer and more consistently interpreted across borders,” Jonathan points out. At the same time, operators are diversifying their licensing footprints beyond traditional European territories, looking towards highgrowth markets such as Latin America. Lidion does monitor these developments, but the CEO maintains a disciplined stance on international expansion. “The greatest obstacle is rarely technology,” he observes. “It is the interaction between banking regulation, local gaming rules, safeguarding requirements, currency and payment arrangements, and the expectations of local regulators and correspondent banks.” Because a model developed in Malta cannot simply be replicated elsewhere without adjustment, he is adamant that expansion must follow capability and governance: “It should never move faster than the bank’s ability to understand and control the associated risks.” Having served as the bedrock of European iGaming regulation for more than two decades, Malta maintains a distinct institutional advantage, yet this position cannot be taken for granted. “The biggest risk is complacency,” the CEO warns. With competing jurisdictions vying for market share, regulatory expectations mounting, and skilled labour increasingly mobile, Malta must continue investing heavily in its talent pool, infrastructure, and international credibility. Furthermore, constructive engagement with European institutions and national regulators will be vital to demonstrate that the Maltese framework fosters sustainable, transparent gaming operations. Addressing the reputational headwinds that occasionally challenge the sector, the CEO advocates for radical transparency over defensiveness. “There are extremely wellgoverned iGaming businesses, just as there are different risk profiles in every other industry,” he states. “Credibility comes from being able to explain our risk appetite, demonstrate our controls, and show why we are comfortable

“EXPANSION SHOULD NEVER MOVE FASTER THAN THE BANK’S ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND AND CONTROL THE ASSOCIATED RISKS.” 038

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“THE WINNING MODEL WILL BE THE BANK THAT CAN COMBINE REAL-TIME FINANCIAL CAPABILITY WITH STRONG GOVERNANCE, SECURITY AND HUMAN ACCOUNTABILITY.” with a particular relationship. It would be counterproductive to pretend that the sector has no risks. The strength of our position is that we understand those risks and apply proportionate controls.” And as the financial services sector embraces artificial intelligence (AI), Lidion is deploying machine learning as a decision-support tool – utilising it to optimise internal workflows, identify transactional exceptions, and streamline repetitive administrative tasks. However, Jonathan draws a sharp line when it comes to ultimate decision-making. “We are very clear that AI does not replace accountability,” he asserts. In areas concerning confidential client data, credit decisions, and AML judgements, human oversight remains non-negotiable. Aligned with frameworks such as DORA, GDPR, and the EU AI Act, his philosophy is clear: “Use AI ambitiously where it can make people more effective, but cautiously where it could make decisions less transparent or put sensitive information at risk.” Looking ahead to the next decade, the CEO predicts that the defining shift across banking and iGaming will be the convergence of banking rails, gaming platforms, and regulatory reporting into a single, programmable, real-time ecosystem. As reconciliation becomes more automated and compliance more data-driven, the standard for banking excellence will inevitably rise. Still, the CEO concludes that technology alone will not be the deciding factor. “The winning model will not simply be the bank with the fastest payment rail. It will be the bank that can combine real-time financial capability with strong governance, security, and human accountability. As banking becomes more automated, clients will look for confidence, continuity, and access to people who understand their business and can respond when circumstances become complex. That is the model we are building towards at Lidion Bank, positioning us as the long-term financial partner of choice for our clients.”

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2027 EDITION INTERVIEW

Residence IN M A LTA

AND TH E

Freedom

TO S AY

Yes

A N D TH E

Photo by Bernard Polidano

Residence and citizenship advisor Yakof Agius explains how the right residence strategy can give iGaming professionals greater freedom to build their future in Malta.

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“WITH EVERY CLIENT, WE START BY LOOKING AT THE LIFE BEHIND THE INQUIRY. WHERE DO YOU WORK? WHO NEEDS TO COME WITH YOU? WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE THE FREEDOM TO DO NEXT?”

Gaming is an international industry, and technology has made it possible to work from almost anywhere. But people still hire people they trust, introduce professionals they know, and it tends to be those informal conversations, whether over coffee, at a business lunch, or on the margins of a networking event, that lead to projects and partnerships that would simply never happen remotely. It is a reality Yakof Agius knows well. Through his boutique firm, Yakof Agius & Associates, he regularly advises professionals considering what it would mean to make Malta a more permanent part of their professional and personal lives because they know the value of being physically present within the island’s iGaming hub. “Malta’s gaming ecosystem,” he says, “brings operators, suppliers and specialist advisers into regular contact. Living nearby gives you more chances to become part of those conversations.” For those considering the move, however, the practicalities can be less straightforward. There is no single route to making Malta home. Where you work, how you earn your income, whether you are moving with family and what you hope to do next can all affect which residence or citizenship option is appropriate. So, where does one even begin? “With every client, we start by looking at the life behind the inquiry,” says Mr Agius. “Where do you work? Who needs to

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come with you? What would you like the freedom to do next?” For some, that freedom simply means being able to make Malta home without giving up the career they already have. The Nomad Residence Permit, he explains, can provide a route for eligible third-country nationals working remotely for an overseas employer to live in Malta while continuing their qualifying foreign employment. “The current minimum gross annual income is €42,000, alongside other requirements,” Mr Agius says, adding that: “You keep the work you already have while getting to know Malta and discover whether something else might develop here. Perhaps nothing changes professionally. You simply discover that you enjoy living here.” Mr Agius points out that there is, however, an important distinction between being in Malta and working for a Malta-based business. The permit does not allow holders to provide services to Maltese businesses or individuals, including a foreign employer’s Maltese subsidiary. If a local job offer arrives, he explains, the residence arrangements would need to change accordingly. And once an opportunity becomes a real offer, there is another question to consider for some. Does the move work for the whole family? An international move has to take account of a partner’s commitments, children and school calendars.

2027 EDITION INTERVIEW

For eligible managerial or highly technical roles, the Key Employee Initiative (KEI) provides a fast-track work and residence application process. The current gross annual salary threshold is €45,000, alongside the relevant qualification or experience requirements. “The Family Members Policy can also form part of that conversation. Qualifying KEI sponsors may request a waiver of the usual 12-month residence waiting period once they have received an Approval in Principle. The financial threshold is €50,000 for the sponsor and one dependant, with an additional amount for each further dependant,” he explains. “Approval remains an individual process, so a family’s move may still require some planning. Conversely, it also gives the employer a better understanding of what to expect,” he notes. “When you recruit someone internationally, you’re asking them to move more than their career. Understanding the household’s position can help both sides work out whether an attractive offer is actually workable. In these situations, residence planning can be one of the elements that helps someone make the commitment the business needs.” For some professionals who have already built a life in Malta, are settled with their family and come to think of the country as home, circumstances might change over the years. They may want to launch their own company, for instance. But if your right to live in Malta depends on your current job, what happens if you leave it? This is where the Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) can become relevant, Mr Agius says. Available to eligible third-country nationals who are not EU, EEA or Swiss nationals, it provides a residence basis independent of a particular employer. Applicants must meet requirements relating to financial resources, qualifying property, contributions and due diligence, alongside ongoing conditions. “For a founder, the significance is practical,” he elaborates. “You can plan your family’s residence separately from the

“WHEN YOU RECRUIT SOMEONE INTERNATIONALLY, YOU’RE ASKING THEM TO MOVE MORE THAN THEIR CAREER. UNDERSTANDING THE HOUSEHOLD’S POSITION CAN HELP BOTH SIDES WORK OUT WHETHER AN ATTRACTIVE OFFER IS ACTUALLY WORKABLE.” 042

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“OUR ROLE IS TO UNDERSTAND THE PERSON’S CIRCUMSTANCES AND EXPLAIN WHAT THE DIFFERENT OPTIONS ACTUALLY MEAN, RATHER THAN TURN AN ASPIRATION INTO A PROMISE.” fortunes of one employment relationship. The business may change direction while home remains home.” The MPRP also allows eligible residents to make short visits within the Schengen Area, subject to the ‘90 days in any 180 days’ rule. It does not give unrestricted rights to live or work elsewhere in Europe, and working in Malta still requires the appropriate authorisation. The question of residence also has to be considered alongside how someone earns their income. As Mr Agius explains, two people with similar earnings can have very different circumstances. One might receive a salary from employment in Malta, while another might derive income from investments or other sources overseas. “That’s why we start by looking at where the income comes from,” says Mr Agius. “The same level of income does not necessarily mean the same tax position. You have to understand how someone earns their money before you can assess which arrangements may be relevant.” For individuals receiving qualifying foreignsource income, The Residence Programme (TRP) for EU/EEA/Swiss nationals and the Global Residence Programme (GRP) for thirdcountry nationals may be relevant, subject to their respective conditions. Under the existing framework, qualifying foreign-source income received in Malta is taxed at 15 per cent, subject to a €15,000 annual minimum and other requirements. A Maltese employment salary does not qualify for the foreign-income rate simply by virtue of the individual’s overall earnings. There is also a significant change on the horizon. “From 1 January 2027, these routes move into Malta’s new Individual Tax Programme framework,” Mr Agius

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explains. “The 15 per cent rate remains, but the minimum annual tax rises to €35,000, property requirements increase, and special tax status becomes renewable in five-year periods. Existing beneficiaries, together with applications received by 31 December 2026, fall under transitional provisions that preserve the existing framework until 31 December 2031, subject to continued compliance.” For some professionals, Malta may begin as a place of work, but over time, the relationship can evolve. What starts as a career move can become a longer-term commitment: putting down roots, raising a family and, eventually, considering how to contribute beyond the scope of their own careers. For Mr Agius, that can lead to questions about citizenship, which is a separate consideration from the residency options. “People need to be realistic about what citizenship by merit means,” he says. “It’s not simply about being successful, earning well or working in iGaming. You have to look honestly at what someone has achieved, what they have contributed and, importantly, what they intend to continue contributing to Malta.” Residence itself does not guarantee progression to citizenship, he stresses. Nor does professional success or wealth establish an entitlement. “That’s why these conversations need to be approached carefully,” Mr Agius cautions. “Our role is to understand the person’s circumstances and explain what the different options actually mean, rather than turn an aspiration into a promise.” For anyone considering their next step, the starting point, Mr Agius notes, is simply a conversation. “Come and talk to us about your plans. We can look at your particular circumstances, explain what may be possible, and help you understand which options are worth exploring.”

2027 EDITION INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

BEYO N D TH E KNOWN PAIN POINTS:

What public reporting D O E S N OT T EL L U S A BO UT

gaming

Drawing on the 2025 annual reports of nine major publicly listed B2C operators, this perspective from Deloitte examines what public reporting reveals about the sector, what it leaves unanswered, and how the Deloitte Gaming Pulse Survey will help close those gaps through more detailed operator insights.

he key challenges facing the iGaming sector are well known to those in the industry: margin pressure, talent attraction and retention, technology governance and regulatory fragmentation. These four pain points appear consistently across earnings calls, industry commentary and boardroom agendas. However, the real value is found in the layer beneath the headline themes: how individual operators are experiencing these pressures, which strategic responses are effective, and where strain is accumulating in ways that published results do not illuminate.

varied significantly, from a modest decline to more than 25 per cent, with US-focused operators generally outperforming the others. Profitability weakened despite revenue growth. Several operators reported new or deeper statutory losses, sometimes driven by significant impairments³, while a smaller group expanded margins, including one achieving its first annual statutory profit. Overall, collective profitability deteriorated. Marketing efficiency may help explain the divergence. Disclosed marketing expenditure ranged from 14 per cent to over 22 per cent of net revenue, which is a significant spread. One operator increased marketing investment yet remained loss-making; another reduced its marketing ratio by three percentage points and increased earnings by more than half. This strongly suggests that strong data and machine-learning capabilities, rather than budget size alone, may increasingly determine returns.

To explore this gap, Deloitte reviewed the most recent audited annual reports of nine major publicly listed B2C operators¹ and launched the Deloitte Gaming Pulse Survey to explore the questions that reporting leaves unanswered. The survey results will be presented at the Deloitte Gaming Pulse Conference on 24 November. This article sets out what the public record establishes on each pain point and, more importantly, what it leaves unanswered. “Public reporting tells us a lot about a sector, but how an individual company should respond is often found in the granularity of detail. We want to bring some of that detail to the surface to help the sector drive efficiencies across the board,” says John Debattista, Partner and Gaming Leader at Deloitte Malta.

Higher gaming taxes added further pressure. One operator estimated an impact exceeding €50 million in 2025 and approaching €90 million in 2026.⁴ Others expect nine-figure annual effects from UK duty increases, prompting mitigation measures including retail closures. Another operator attributed a twopercentage-point margin decline directly to higher taxes.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: VISIBLE SPEND, INVISIBLE EFFICIENCY In 2025, the nine operators generated combined net gaming revenue of approximately $43 billion.² Growth

Public disclosures reveal expenditure and tax impacts, but not the decisions behind them. To close this

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2027 EDITION INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

gap, Deloitte is examining marketing allocation, responses to margin pressure, past decisions operators would revisit and the priorities they would protect. Aggregated, anonymised findings from the Deloitte Gaming Pulse Survey will benchmark sector pressures, decision quality, capital-allocation trade-offs and forward planning.

and proactive), responsible gambling technology investment trends, capital allocation intentions for emerging technologies and barriers to cryptocurrency payments. Participants will gain a view of technology returns, governance maturity and how their progress compares with peers across the sector, revealing how operators are prioritising and framing technology investment.

HUMAN CAPITAL: VISIBLE COST, INVISIBLE RETENTION Published reporting highlights rising personnel costs and workforce restructuring but provides little comparable insight into retention, engagement or skills. Voluntary turnover among major operators ranges from 16 per cent to 21 per cent, yet most do not disclose engagement metrics or training investment. Deloitte is closing this gap by identifying the factors operators consider most important for retaining high performers (from competitive remuneration to career development) and assessing how effectively their organisations deliver against them. This comparison will expose where retention risks are greatest and provide peer benchmarks. It will also identify critical skill shortages.

COMPLIANCE AND MARKET ENTRY: RISING COST, UNEVEN DISCIPLINE Management commentary across the nine operators points consistently to rising compliance costs and intensifying regulatory requirements. Yet compliance expenditure is not separately disclosed by any of them and expansion continues regardless. Some operators reference documented risk assessment frameworks; the public record offers little basis for judging how systematically market entry decisions are in fact made. Deloitte is quantifying both the cost and the discipline. The survey asks for total compliance expenditure and its share of operating costs; which market entry strategies operators have employed, and which elements proved most challenging; as well as how compliance is managed across jurisdictions and leadership’s satisfaction with compliance performance. Most tellingly, does a formal, documented and consistently applied risk assessment process exist prior to market entry? And which business decisions, from product design to capital allocation and M&A, are directly shaped by regulatory requirements? Deloitte is also assessing ESG readiness: which sustainability and reporting requirements will bear most heavily over the next two to three years and how prepared organisations are to respond.

Technology talent commands 20-40 per cent wage premiums, yet operators struggle to fill data science and AI/ML roles. Deloitte will examine how AI is expected to reshape the workforce through reduced headcount, changing skill requirements or expansion. Participants will gain insight into which functions face disruption (sportsbook, compliance, customer care) and how prepared the sector is for transition, revealing whether operators are investing in human capital as a competitive advantage or managing it as a cost centre. TECHNOLOGY: DEPLOYMENT AT SCALE, GOVERNANCE AT VARYING SPEEDS AI adoption has progressed beyond experimentation, but both deployment and disclosure vary significantly across operators, creating potential capability and governance gaps. High-efficiency operators have deployed AI across marketing automation, customer operations and responsible gaming, achieving 8-12 per cent reductions in customer acquisition cost and 15-22 per cent increases in customer lifetime value. Yet lowefficiency operators report minimal AI deployment, facing 6-9 per cent increases in acquisition costs and 5-8 per cent declines in lifetime value.

GRANULARITY REVEALS WHAT AGGREGATES HIDE The survey will provide operators with a benchmark against peers, revealing where pressure is building, which responses deliver results and where stronger performers are pulling ahead. For regulators and investors, it exposes governance maturity, resilience and technology-enabled performance. For the sector, it identifies the priorities that will shape the next cycle of decisions. The Deloitte Gaming Pulse Survey will be presented at the Deloitte Gaming Pulse Conference on 24 November 2026. John Debattista is a Partner and Gaming Leader at Deloitte Malta. For more information, visit www.deloitte.com/mt

Deloitte will benchmark adoption across acquisition, retention, customer support, operations and internal automation, distinguishing exploratory use from pilots and scaled deployment. It will also assess where technology has generated measurable returns through cost savings, revenue growth, risk reduction, retention improvements and compliance gains. Broader areas include information security governance maturity (from basic awareness to optimised

Photo by Dragana Rankovic

¹ Analysis based on FY2025 annual reports and full-year results announcements of nine publicly listed operators with material B2C gaming operations. All operator-level figures are presented on an anonymised basis. ² The nine operators report in three currencies (USD, GBP and EUR) and on differing revenue definitions: most disclose net gaming revenue or net revenue (after winnings and, in some cases, promotional costs), while one reports lottery-inclusive gross gaming revenue. Aggregates are therefore indicative, converted at approximate 2025 average exchange rates and are not presented on a uniform GGR basis. Percentages of revenue cited in this article use each operator’s reported net revenue as the denominator unless otherwise stated. ³ Statutory results in 2025 were materially affected at certain operators by non-recurring items, including impairments relating to market exits and acquired businesses and mergerrelated accounting. Aggregate profitability trends should be read net of these effects.⁴ Figures cited for tax impact, engagement, AI deployment and headcount are individual operators’ own disclosures, presented as illustrations of the sector dynamic rather than as group aggregates.

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2027 EDITION TALENT

T HE iG AM I N G JO B S R E S E T:

Inside

TH E S H I F T I N

content creative roles AND

As AI reshapes content production and affiliate publishing, the impact on creative jobs is becoming harder to ignore. Owain Flanders examines what exactly is changing, which skills still carry weight and whether a leaner industry risks weakening its future talent pipeline.

Photo by hobo_018 - iStock

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n paper, Malta’s iGaming jobs market looks healthy. Employment among Malta Gaming Authoritylicensed online gaming companies continued to rise during 2025. By June, the Authority estimated that 13,929 full-time equivalent employees were working in Malta with licensed online operators, an increase of 3.5 per cent from the end of the previous year. Look more closely at the content and creative side of the industry, however, and the picture is a little more uneasy. Over the past few years, restructuring has affected content, editorial and marketing operations across a string of affiliate businesses with links to Malta. Some changes have been explicitly connected to AI. Others have taken place against a backdrop of weaker organic search performance, rising costs, consolidation and changing priorities. The apparent tension is important – Malta’s iGaming sector is not simply shedding jobs, but some of the roles that helped build the affiliate industry over the last decade are being reconsidered, with the teams behind them getting leaner. For writers in particular, the first warning arrived early. Freelance iGaming writer Dominic Field remembers a noticeable change in early 2023, shortly after ChatGPT became publicly available. Suddenly, the existence of free software capable of producing passable copy seemed to raise question marks as to the worth of a professional writer. “Remember, why should I pay you when ChatGPT exists?” read one Upwork job advert he encountered. Mr Field saw his own earnings fall during the first few months of the year. Then something unexpected happened. By the end of 2023, his earnings had recovered. What followed was not the wholesale replacement of human writers, but a market that Mr Field believes has split into two camps.

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“SOFT SKILLS ARE SOMETHING THAT NO ONE CAN TAKE AWAY FROM YOU.” Emanuel Zammit

“The pro guys continue to use AI first, then hunt cheap editors or writers to polish their rubbish,” he says. “But the anti-AI clients are seeking people like me, who share their anti-AI values, and are happy to pay top whack to distance themselves from it. There’s no longer anything in between,” he adds.

“I don’t think anything will completely replace humans, but AI can obviously improve our decisions and make us more efficient,” says Mr Zammit. “Instead of requiring a team of 10 people, for example, you might require five.” There are other pressures too. Mr Zammit points to regulatory and operating costs, as well as the frequency with which gaming businesses are bought, sold and merged. “I think it’s a little bit of everything,” he says.

MORE THAN AN AI STORY There is plenty of evidence that affiliate companies are reassessing how much they spend on content. Malta-headquartered Catena Media provided one example in October 2024, when it announced the loss of 29 positions from its content production and content marketing teams. The move was expected to save €2.2m annually and formed part of a transition towards a leaner, product-led organisation.

Mr Field sees another disruption coming from outside the content team itself: the changing nature of search. Affiliate publishing was built largely around a familiar transaction – a

More recently, the connection with AI has become explicit. In May 2026, Gambling.com Group announced an “AI Transformation-led Restructure” expected to reduce its workforce by around 25 per cent and generate $13m in annualised savings. The company said AI was becoming a foundational part of its internal workflows. AI, though, is only one part of what is happening. Emanuel Zammit, Director of Recruitment at GCS Malta, says he has seen tasks move towards AI without necessarily seeing entire occupations disappear overnight. “There is definitely a shift,” he says. “Currently, I wouldn’t say a lot of jobs are being made redundant specifically because of AI, but there is a reallocation of certain tasks to AI rather than people.” Administrative work that might once have occupied an employee for 40 hours each week can increasingly be automated, leaving that person to spend perhaps 25 hours on administration and the remainder on other responsibilities. Apply the same principle to content and the employment implications become harder to ignore.

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2027 EDITION TALENT

Photo by DC Studio - magnific.com

user searches for information about a casino, bookmaker, bonus or game, then Google directs that user to an affiliate site.

time checking its answers that much of the efficiency disappeared. “I can see the benefits of AI for extremely generic output, which can then be manually tweaked by a human editor. But not for anything that’s even close to requiring some sort of expertise.” His expectation is that both sides of the debate about job losses will ultimately be proved right. “I think it’s already reducing the number of people required,” he says. The likely affiliate content operation of the future, in his view, involves “a large chunk of AI-gen content, guided by a much smaller team of SEO types and editors, with humans only stepping in for the very important stuff.”

That model becomes less certain if the search engine answers more questions itself. “With Google offering its own AI Overviews, far fewer people now click through to affiliate sites,” Mr Field argues. “So affiliates are making less money. With less money, they either go out of business, or have less to pay people like me. AI will never take my job, because it can’t do what I can do,” he says. “But it’s ‘taken my job’ in the sense that AIOs are killing affiliates off, so there’s less work to go around.” WHAT HAPPENS TO THE WRITER WHO REMAINS? For all his scepticism, Mr Field is not an AI objector. He began experimenting with ChatGPT soon after its release and continues to use it for certain tasks. One example is trawling through lengthy terms and conditions on betting sites. A prompt can extract information such as minimum legal ages or restricted jurisdictions and save a few minutes of routine research.

If that prediction proves accurate, the question for creative professionals becomes less about whether they can compete with AI on output and more about what they can contribute that sits above it. Mr Zammit thinks some of the answer lies outside technical ability. “Soft skills are something that no one can take away from you,” he says. “Having a business mindset is important regardless of your role,” he says. “AI can offer solutions, but it can’t completely replace that mentality.”

What he does not trust it to do is the research itself. After experimenting with AI for that purpose, he found himself spending so much

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are being discussed. Overall gaming employment can continue growing while an affiliate decides it no longer needs the same number of writers. A company can remove routine creative positions while hiring elsewhere for technology, product or more specialised expertise.

Ask Mr Field whether iGaming writers now need to become more commercially aware, though, and his response is telling. “Did they not already have to do that in iGaming? You have to understand the target audience, and you need to understand at least the very basics of SEO,” he says. “No point writing like Chaucer. You need people to understand you quickly and clearly if you’re going to sell a casino, a poker site, a slot game, or a new betting market.”

The harder question may emerge a little later. Senior editors, content strategists and creative leaders do not begin their careers with senior-level judgement. They learn it by researching, writing, editing, making mistakes and spending years doing some of the work that is easiest to hand to AI. If leaner teams increasingly automate those early tasks, iGaming may solve one immediate problem of cost and efficiency while creating another for its future talent pipeline. The creative career is unlikely to disappear, but the first rung of the ladder may become considerably harder to reach.

A SMALLER LADDER TO CLIMB Neither Mr Field nor Mr Zammit expects the logical conclusion to be an iGaming creative department without people.

“WITH GOOGLE OFFERING ITS OWN AI OVERVIEWS, FAR FEWER PEOPLE NOW CLICK THROUGH TO AFFILIATE SITES.”

Mr Field already works with a large affiliate that combines both approaches, using, in his words, “AI a bit, and humans a lot.” He expects that kind of hybrid model to remain viable in the near term. Mr Zammit reaches a similar conclusion. “I think AI is more likely to become an additional arm for human beings rather than completely replace them,” he says. For Malta, that leaves a jobs market that is difficult to describe as either booming or contracting without first asking which jobs

Dominic Field

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2027 EDITION ESPORTS

esports THE RISE OF

events AS AN

tourism

Ramona Depares sounds out the major players shaping Malta’s esports ecosystem to explore whether international tournaments can translate global audiences, homegrown talent and commercial interest into a sustainable new niche for the island’s events tourism sector.

N I CH E I N M ALTA

alta is no stranger to iGaming crowds. For years, conferences like SiGMA, SBC and NEXT.io have filled hotels, restaurants and meeting rooms with operators, suppliers, investors and executives who travel to the island to do business. Joining the landscape for these past years is another niche gaming sector – that of esports, which brings a rather different kind of visitor to Malta. Esports enthusiasts may be here to compete in titles like Counter-Strike, or maybe even just to watch, rather than to speak at a conference panel. But, increasingly, they arrive with many of the same things Malta seeks from events tourism: international spend, longer stays, global exposure and an ecosystem of teams, production crews, sponsors and commercial partners travelling with them. And if recent tournaments and partnerships are anything to go by, Malta is already turning that momentum into something permanent. Recent Tier 1 tournaments such as the BLAST Premier Bounty have shown that the island has the infrastructure to host major international competitions and to broadcast them to millions. Can esports generate the same kind of repeat business that iGaming conferences have built over time?

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“GAMINGMALTA AIMS TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ESPORTS AS A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AND ECONOMIC NICHE, RATHER THAN A SERIES OF ISOLATED SPECTACLES.” Ivan Filletti

travel to Malta for individual events, while millions more encounter Malta through the broadcasts and digital content surrounding them. This gives us an opportunity to develop a distinctive events-tourism segment: one that brings players, fans, production teams and commercial partners to the island, while showcasing Malta to a young and highly engaged global audience. Moreover, the players themselves are celebrities and travel with their coach, teams, manager and fitness team,” Mr Filletti says. Malta has already shown that it can meet the technical and production standards of a live global broadcast, cementing the opportunity to turn tournaments into repeat business.

GamingMalta CEO Ivan Filletti believes so, and the argument he puts forward is backed by data. BLAST events held throughout the past year led to a strong international reach that extended far beyond the esports arena: BLAST Premier generated 60 million live views, 18.5 million hours watched and a peak audience of 787,000. BLAST Dota Slam, meanwhile, set a new series record with a peak viewership of 324,000 and generating 12.5 million hours watched. Its social media coverage added another 28 million impressions, 298,000 engagements and 36,000 new followers. For Mr Filletti, these figures demonstrate esports’ dual value to Malta: attracting an international audience to the island while giving the destination visibility among millions of potential visitors worldwide. “What these figures tell us is that esports is already attracting a genuinely international audience to Malta. We are seeing spectators

“There’s already a regular esports calendar in place, supported by planning, venues and coordinated partnerships across tourism, gaming and esports. GamingMalta aims to continue supporting the development of esports as a sustainable tourism and economic niche, rather than a series of isolated spectacles. This reflects not only our Make It in Malta

Gamdom Imperial. Photo by Bernard Polidano

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campaign, but also the direction set out by Malta Vision 2050, which positions the island as a place where international competition, digital creativity and business can grow together,” he elaborates.

He explains that esports has two facets: the business side and the community aspect. Based on this, he believes Malta has the potential to become a business and cultural hub for esports in the Mediterranean, as well as serve as the European home for international esports businesses.

Michele Magro, President of the Malta Esports Association, notes that, although the esports community has been around for over two decades, this is still very much a nascent scene. “We are now seeing the third or fourth generation of esports enthusiasts come through, and every generation brings with it different trends. Today, our community is much more cosmopolitan, but potentially less closely knit as organising physical events has become more challenging.”

“Like any other burgeoning sector, various professionals can plug into esports: event management, audio-visual, back-office, broadcast, sales and much more. Therefore, a career should be built on the available skills, rather than being restricted to one sector. The greatest benefit of esports is the ease for young enthusiasts to gain access to the sector early on, and acquire crucial skills that are useful not only in esports, but in other sectors too,” he says.

Over the past few years, Malta has seen largescale international events take place on the island, alongside a greater spotlight on local activities such as PLAYCON. “These opportunities have also led to bigger productions organised by both local entities and international business,” he says, noting the role of GamingMalta’s investment in supporting this growth. However, there remains room for further development, with career opportunities still relatively seasonal and dependent on the events calendar.

Meanwhile, leading global names in the niche continue flocking to Malta. BLAST is arguably the one that maintained the strongest momentum. James Woollard, VP Destinations and Market Development at the organisation, describes how Malta has embraced esports with a clear strategy, plan and level of ambition that stand out. The island, he believes, has shown genuine recognition of esports as part of the future of entertainment, technology and the creative industries, backed by strong support from GamingMalta and the Maltese Government.

‘’Educational take-up in Maltese schools has been slower compared to our counterparts. We also hope to create more opportunities for local players and teams, and increase our representation in international tournaments. One of the aims behind the Malta Esports Awards is, in fact, to shine a spotlight on the achievements of our local community,” Mr Magro continues.

“There is a willingness to understand the wider ecosystem around them and how esports can create opportunities in production, technology, education, tourism and employment for the local community,” he elaborates.

“THE GREATEST BENEFIT OF ESPORTS IS THE EASE FOR YOUNG ENTHUSIASTS TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE SECTOR EARLY ON.” Michele Magro

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The BLAST studio is a 5,000 square metre esports arena in Ta’ Qali. Photo by Luc Tancrede Bouchon

2027 EDITION ESPORTS

About BLAST’s partnership with GamingMalta, he stresses that this isn’t simply about bringing Tier 1 tournaments to the island, but rather about creating something sustainable that can have an impact beyond individual event weekends. “Establishing a permanent studio – the largest fixed studio in Malta – gives us the opportunity to make Malta a genuine part of BLAST’s global operations. We can produce world-class esports events from the island while investing in creating career opportunities and developing knowledge and expertise that remain in Malta long after an event finishes.” A sustainable industry, he notes, has to extend beyond events, with the real opportunity being that of building a full ecosystem. “Local talent is hugely important, and a core part of our Maltese expansion efforts. One of the biggest misconceptions around esports is that the career opportunity is that of a professional player. In reality, the overwhelming majority of people working in the industry are behind the scenes, and there are a whole host of roles. A BLAST production or studio involves people working across broadcast, engineering, technology, tournament operations, event management, graphics, content, social media, marketing, communications, commercial partnerships, Human Resources, construction and many other disciplines,” the VP says.

Photo by João Ferreira

“A SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY HAS TO EXTEND BEYOND EVENTS.” James Woollard

The island has also seen Imperial Esports, a leading Brazilian organisation, establish its European headquarters and training facility in Malta. CFO Bruno Martins describes the factors that made Malta an excellent strategic choice.

The move, he says, has afforded the organisation more flexibility and predictability. Instead of treating every international tournament or bootcamp as a completely new logistical operation, Imperial now has a home in Europe that can support teams before, during and between competitions.

“Malta offers a very interesting combination of accessibility, business environment and proximity to an ecosystem that is already familiar with gaming and esports. Having a permanent presence here gives us a European base from which we can operate more efficiently, while building relationships with local companies, institutions and partners. We don’t see this as just an office location, but as a platform for expanding our European footprint,” Mr Martins elaborates.

“This has also allowed us to think beyond our own teams and to develop the facility as a platform that can host other organisations, bootcamps, players and projects. We have seen a very positive evolution in the ecosystem in Malta, particularly in terms of the recognition of gaming and esports as an important part of Malta’s broader gaming ecosystem,” the CFO says.

“WE DON’T SEE THIS AS JUST AN OFFICE LOCATION, BUT AS A PLATFORM FOR EXPANDING OUR EUROPEAN FOOTPRINT.” Bruno Martins

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The potential for Malta to become a stronger European base for international esports teams and players is significant, he says, with Malta already boasting several of the ingredients that international esports organisations look for. “These are a strong gaming industry, an international environment, English as a business language, good connectivity with Europe and a country that is actively interested in developing this sector. The next opportunity is to build more infrastructure and connections around that foundation. We believe the island can become a very attractive destination for international teams looking for a European base and, from Imperial’s perspective, we want to be part of that process,” he concludes.

2027 EDITION LIFESTYLE

Battle of Malta:

G ROWI N G A PO K E R D E ST INAT IO N

How Casino Malta helped turn a respected poker brand into an international festival experience.

n 2018, Battle of Malta entered a new chapter when the brand was acquired by Casino Malta. It already had a loyal following and a strong name within European poker, but the move gave the festival a larger home, new resources and the confidence to think bigger. The ambition was clear: preserve the character players loved while building an event capable of welcoming a much wider international audience.

Behind that experience is a large team working across poker, operations, marketing, VIP, media, hospitality, compliance and many other departments. Casino Malta Marketing Manager Telly Bartolo and VIP Manager Diane Fenech play an important part in keeping that team connected, maintaining the spirit during long festival days and ensuring that the player experience remains both professional and personal. Their role is less about standing in the spotlight and more about helping every department move together. Clear communication, recognition for the people behind the scenes and positive energy matter just as much as any headline number.

THE MOVE THAT CHANGED THE SCALE The impact was immediate. The Main Event guarantee increased by 100 per cent, from €500,000 before the acquisition to €1 million for the first Casino Malta edition. Main Event participation also rose by approximately 84 per cent, from 2,074 entries in 2017 to 3,816 in 2018. Those entries created a prize pool of €1,850,760 and established a new benchmark for poker in Malta.

Of course, festival life has its own rules. Sleep becomes optional, coffee becomes an operational department and the words “just one quick question” rarely lead to a quick answer. There is always a radio calling, a sign being moved or somebody searching for the one item that was definitely there five minutes ago. Yet when the doors open and the first cards are dealt, the teamwork becomes visible.

The momentum continued. In 2019, participation grew by a further 22 per cent to 4,657 entries, producing €2,258,645 in Main Event prize money. By the 2025 autumn edition, the Main Event reached 6,039 entries – almost 60 per cent more than Casino Malta’s first edition – with a prize pool of €2,728,270.

SERIOUS POKER WITH A MALTESE PERSONALITY The strength of Battle of Malta lies in that balance. The guarantees are serious, the competition is international and the organisation operates on a major scale, but the festival remains friendly, social and unmistakably Mediterranean. Players can chase a title, enjoy the island and return home with a story – even when the cards were less cooperative than the Maltese weather.

The figures tell a powerful story, but growth has never been only about numbers. The move to Casino Malta and the InterContinental Arena allowed the festival to develop into a complete poker destination, combining major tournament action with hotels, hospitality, entertainment and Malta’s Mediterranean atmosphere, all within one connected location.

Today, Battle of Malta is an event poker players actively look for when planning their calendar. Its growth reflects the loyalty of its players, the strength of its partners and the work of an experienced team that continues to improve every edition. The numbers may keep getting bigger, but the purpose remains simple: create a battle worth travelling for and an experience players want to repeat.

For the first time, the brand has also tried its cards in a new country with the Battle of Malta Slovakia edition. This move helps BOM reach new players and markets. Wherever the brand travels, however, it will carry the same welcoming spirit, professional standards and sense of community. Perhaps one day, the winning knights from every BOM destination will gather in Malta for one final grand battle.

GROWTH AT A GLANCE:

MORE THAN A TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE Battle of Malta has grown because players are offered more than a seat at the table. They come to compete, but they also come to reconnect with friends, discover Malta and share an experience with people from across Europe and beyond. Satellites, side events, international partners, media coverage and social content have all helped build a community that returns from one edition to the next.

2017 - 2018: Main Event guarantee doubled (€500k → €1M) • Entries +84% (2,074 → 3,816) 2019: 4,657 entries • €2,258,645 Main Event prize pool 2025 autumn: 6,039 entries • €2,728,270 Main Event prize pool Home: Casino Malta & InterContinental Arena Also: Battle of Malta Slovakia edition

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2027 EDITION TALENT

BEYOND RECRUITMENT:

Building

PARTNERS HIP S FOR

business growth

Photos by Inigo Taylor

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2027 EDITION TALENT

Established in 2017, professional services firm GCS Malta has built a reputation for reliability through its broad range of offerings, spanning accounting, company formation and recruitment. Director of Recruitment Services and Business Consultancy Emanuel Zammit speaks to Rebecca Anastasi about the firm’s ambition to become a trusted one-stop shop for businesses.

“O

The model has enabled GCS Malta to support clients across multiple areas of their operations, with different departments providing specialist expertise while maintaining an integrated view of the business.

ur focus is on continuous improvement, listening closely to client feedback and ensuring the company continues to evolve. Ultimately, building a reputation for dependability and consistency has been fundamental to our success,” says Emanuel Zammit, Director of Recruitment Services & Business Consultancy at corporate services firm GCS Malta.

“This reduces the pressure on our partners, because they know we have a cohesive understanding of their business and remain readily accessible. We place significant emphasis on the quality of service we provide. From a practical perspective, it also means we can facilitate a swift and seamless transition when a client needs to engage with another department,” he says.

The business was founded almost a decade ago by CEO Christian Gravina, with the ambition of creating a holistic offering that today encompasses auditing, accounting, banking set-up, payroll services and, of particular relevance to Mr Zammit, human resources and recruitment.

The firm has expanded significantly since its early years. Mr Zammit joined GCS Malta as its eighth employee when, in 2019, Mr Gravina approached him to establish the firm’s human resources and recruitment offering. This has since grown to encompass relocation assistance and support with work permit applications.

“When Chris started the company, he was determined to build a diversified business rather than focus on a single service line. From the outset, the vision was to create a fully-fledged one-stop shop, giving clients the confidence that a broad range of their business needs could be addressed through a single provider,” Mr Zammit explains.

“OUR RECRUITMENT DEPARTMENT HAS DOUBLED IN SIZE OVER THE PAST 15 MONTHS, AND OUR PRIORITY NOW IS TO CONSOLIDATE THAT GROWTH AND CONTINUE BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATIONS WE HAVE ESTABLISHED.” 063

2027 EDITION TALENT

Today, the business employs more than 60 people, with Mr Zammit overseeing a team of 12. “Our recruitment department has doubled in size over the past 15 months, and our priority now is to consolidate that growth and continue building on the foundations we have established,” he says. As part of this expansion, the firm was also granted a recruitment licence, enabling it to provide external recruitment services. However, Mr Zammit stresses that the offering extends beyond filling vacancies, incorporating a broader HR consultancy proposition. “Our role is not simply to help clients fill positions; it is to provide solutions to the underlying recruitment and workforce challenges they face. If, for example, a smaller business does not have the internal capacity to recruit, we can provide that support. Similarly, if a company has experienced a significant number of resignations and needs an external perspective, we can assess the situation and advise on the changes required. Ultimately, our aim is to alleviate that pressure for the client,” Mr Zammit explains. The firm has also launched Malta Careers, an online job platform designed to connect candidates with suitable employment opportunities. “We currently have around 350 vacancies, covering roles across iGaming, accountancy, IT and computing, manufacturing, financial services, insurance and other business support functions. This gives us another avenue through which we can support businesses in achieving their growth ambitions.” With regard to its work with stakeholders and businesses in the iGaming sector, Mr Zammit emphasises that, while GCS

“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE PRIORITISE IS BUILDING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR CLIENTS, REMAINING CONSISTENT IN THE SERVICE WE PROVIDE, AND FORGING LONGTERM PARTNERSHIPS.” 064

Malta works across a range of industries, it also has access to specialised recruiters with expertise in specific sectors. “This is the approach we took from the start. If we did not have a recruiter who understands the industry they are operating within, how would we know if our clients are, say, offering competitive remuneration for the talent they are seeking to recruit? Specialist knowledge allows us to provide targeted insight,” he affirms, explaining that the goal is not to be a jack of all trades, but rather to offer the services of professionals with a detailed understanding of specific niches. In this regard, GCS Malta assists iGaming businesses in finding the talent they need, relocating members of staff, as well as providing support through a range of other professional and financial services, such as company formation and tax compliance. “The most important thing we prioritise is building strong relationships with our clients, remaining consistent in the service we provide, and forging longterm partnerships. Our goal is not to attract every company, but to foster more meaningful relationships with those with whom we work,” he insists. Moving on to speak more broadly about the opportunities within Malta’s recruitment space, Mr Zammit describes these as “immense”. Malta, he says, remains a hub for business within the EU, with companies continuing to relocate and organisations investing further in the country. “Of course, not every industry is growing equally or at the same capacity. At the moment, the Fintech sector is booming, but this may level off in around five years. Therefore, we need to remain flexible. Nonetheless, this is still an attractive country for many businesses,” he confirms. Yet, challenges remain. “One of the main difficulties is retaining talent, with staff turnover across the country occurring at a high rate. Clients find it difficult to retain their staff for more than five years. People may leave because a company may, perhaps, not provide sufficient opportunities for career growth. The COVID years made people reassess their life choices, and this shock to the system pushed many to prioritise salary expectations and flexibility. Today, remote work has become mainstream, so offering hybrid working conditions is a must.”

2027 EDITION TALENT

“TODAY, REMOTE WORK HAS BECOME MAINSTREAM, SO OFFERING HYBRID WORKING CONDITIONS IS A MUST.” Moreover, competition for the most talented professionals is intense. “Talent can afford to be selective, and there are always new opportunities available to them, which makes it more likely that they will move on if they find something better. Sometimes, it is even easier to simply apply for another job than to try to address issues in your current place of employment. So, unless businesses adapt to these conditions and to this market, they will continue to face challenges in finding and retaining the right people,” he observes.

across our recruitment and HR functions. We already work with AI-based tools and systems; the goal is not to replace human talent, but to reduce errors and improve the efficiency of our processes. At GCS Malta, we are investing thousands of euros a year so that we are better able to service clients quickly and consistently,” he says. Indeed, the objective is to continuously improve the firm’s offering, invest in the development of its team and further enhance the quality of its services. “This is not only about remaining competitive, but about always striving to do better, to flourish and, as with our HR consultancy function, expand into new services,” Mr Zammit concludes.

Looking ahead, Mr Zammit sees recent advances in technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools as conducive to greater efficiency. “Part of my job at GCS Malta is to oversee digital transformation

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2027 EDITION INTERVIEW

The hotel

everyone TH AT ’ S N OT FO R

Neal Debono, General Manager of ME Malta by Meliá, speaks about the deliberate choices behind a hotel that isn’t trying to be everything to everyone, and why, for the C-suite professionals driving Malta’s iGaming industry, that niche focus makes all the difference.

hen General Manager Neal Debono set about positioning ME Malta by Meliá to better serve the iGaming industry, he first needed to understand who the modern iGaming professional actually is.

That, in many ways, is the challenge ME Malta has taken on. “Our expectation is to meet the levels of international standards,” Mr Debono says. “And in order to reach that bar, you have to be clear about what you are as a hotel, and what you aren’t.”

They are, in his words, an “extremely well-travelled” lot. Executives who may have been in New York two months ago, Bangkok for a conference, on to Brazil, before landing in Malta. Over the course of a typical day, they move from high-stakes decisionmaking to after-hours networking over cocktails. Their expectations are not shaped by what is available locally, but by the best of what they have encountered around the globe.

“This is not a red-carpet type of hotel,” he continues. “We don’t appeal to absolutely everyone. We’ve made our alignment with select industries, the gaming industry being one, because we know how to excel at what they want and need.” Case in point: knowing the work-hard, play-hard MO of your average iGaming cohort, the hotel serves Bloody Marys and energisers at breakfast – crafted to help guests reset after a late night and face whatever the day has in store.

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2027 EDITION INTERVIEW

“YOU HAVE TO BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE AS A HOTEL, AND WHAT YOU AREN’T.”

perform strongly against its local competitive set, within the wider Southern European region, and among ME’s international properties.

Much like the iGaming industry itself, the ME Malta project has not been without a little controversy. Mercury Towers’ development, designed by worldleading architect Zaha Hadid, raised a few eyebrows from the start. Mr Debono doesn’t shy away from that history. “This was a polarising project. But let’s be honest,” he says, “the property where Mercury Towers sits was a hole full of broken dreams and broken bottles of Heineken.” Today, that same site has become a landmark within St Julian’s, and Mr Debono believes it has contributed to a broader elevation of the area, with other bold architectural investments now following suit.

The hotel’s facilities certainly lend themselves naturally to the social and experiential side of an industry where company gatherings, client entertaining, and team celebrations are a big part of the culture. Whether that means taking over Cabana Club for a full-day summer event with music, drinks, and food around the pool, or hosting a private dining experience for overseas clients at Radio Rooftop, which offers panoramic views across half the island, the hotel has the flexibility to host all sorts of tailored events. There are also the facilities of the wider Mercury Towers development to enjoy, giving guests easy access to the premium retail and lifestyle offerings without needing to venture far.

Since welcoming its first guests in November 2024, it’s also been a hit with precisely the audiences it was targeting, a success Mr Debono can measure with empirical rigour. “I am the sort of person that refers to numbers in everything I do,” he says. “Numbers don’t lie.” ME Malta tracks a range of performance indicators, including its Guest Review Index across leading booking sites where the hotel continues to

But perhaps the biggest distinction between ME Malta and a more traditional corporate hotel lies in its Leaders Programme, a carefully curated offering

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2027 EDITION INTERVIEW

“WE’VE MADE OUR ALIGNMENT WITH SELECT INDUSTRIES, THE GAMING INDUSTRY BEING ONE, BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW TO EXCEL AT WHAT THEY WANT AND NEED.” for selected C-suite and senior corporate guests, designed to deliver a degree of personalisation that a broader programme simply could not sustain. “If your CEO is visiting Malta and you are the booker, you need to sleep at night knowing that they have been taken care of in a very personalised manner,” Mr Debono explains. In practice, that might mean personal airport pickups, private internet connections for discreet conference calls, or far more nuanced touches. “We have C-suites that have a suitcase specifically for Malta, which they leave with us,” Mr Debono says. “We take care of their laundry needs, replenish their preferred grooming essentials, and ensure their personalised bathrobe and other items are waiting for them on their next arrival.” That familiarity can extend to the room itself. Regular guests may find the same room reserved for them each time they return.

The intention, he explains, is to create something closer to a home away from home than a conventional hotel stay. Central to making all of this possible is ME Malta’s Aura team, a dedicated guest experience operation whose role goes well beyond responding to requests. “The team’s job is researching and predicting customer expectations,” Mr Debono explains. “We want to ensure that the personal assistants booking on behalf of C-suite executives have that peace of mind. The last thing a PA needs is an angry call at two o’clock in the morning telling them that there’s no running water in the room, or there’s no Wi-Fi, or this is not the room that they expected. That’s why we offer a level of attention that perhaps most other hotels simply cannot deliver.” Mr Debono is reluctant to lean on the word “luxury,” a term, he argues, so widely used it has lost its meaning. What he points to

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2027 EDITION INTERVIEW

instead is the combination of boutique personalisation and international brand infrastructure. “Our size and our brand are the best of both worlds,” he says. “The boutiqueness of our size, accompanied by the marriage of being part of the ME brand and portfolio, means we can offer a highly personalised service backed by the resources and guarantees of a global brand.” Still, as Mr Debono admits, what has worked so far doesn’t guarantee future success, and so for him and his team, staying on their toes and continuing to evolve is essential. Being part of Mercury Towers has opened the door to ongoing synergies, and while several forthcoming partnerships remain under wraps, Mr Debono hints at tie-ins with high-end

retail brands and collaborations extending into several hotel suites. There’s also a new Radio Rooftop New Year’s Eve experience, Night in Kyoto, in the pipeline, alongside plans for an exclusive pool concept coming next summer. But across the new launches and reveals, what Mr Debono ultimately wants ME Malta to instil within the international business and iGaming community is that feeling that everything they need is already taken care of, whether they’re in work, rest or play mode. “I would love for the C-suite iGaming professional to feel that ME Malta is the place where they don’t have to worry about anything, where they can find everything they need and the service is always thinking a step ahead.”

“I WOULD LOVE FOR THE C-SUITE iGAMING PROFESSIONAL TO FEEL THAT ME MALTA IS THE PLACE WHERE THEY DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING.” 069

2027 EDITION WORKSPACE

A STAT EMEN T O F I NT E NT:

Inside

Gentoo Media’s QUAD C ENT R A L

headquarters

When leading iGaming affiliate Gentoo Media sought a new corporate flagship to mirror its rapid evolution, the priority was not simply desk capacity, but creating an environment built on connection, transparency and momentum. Director of IT Infrastructure and Operations Ryan Casaletto speaks with Sarah Muscat Azzopardi about the process of crafting a workspace where culture, technology, and architectural fluidity converge. 070

or Gentoo Media, securing new corporate headquarters was never merely an exercise in square footage. As a dynamic, publicly listed player navigating a fast-paced global market, the company required a physical space that could mirror its ethos. “When we set out to find Gentoo Media’s new home, we weren’t just looking for an office,” explains Ryan Casaletto. “We were looking for a space that reflected who we are and who we are becoming. As a company built on innovation, transparency, and long-term thinking, we needed an environment that could support our ambitions and how we work.”

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Photos by Edouard Tabone DeMarco - Pyramid Creative Studio

2027 EDITION WORKSPACE

The search quickly led to Quad Central. With its sustainable credentials, cutting-edge infrastructure, and burgeoning reputation as a vibrant business district, the development offered the ideal setting to anchor the company firmly within Malta’s thriving iGaming landscape.

intentional, employee-first design process. Rather than calculating space purely by headcount, the design team embarked on an in-depth spatial planning phase, carefully analysing the nuances of Gentoo Media’s hybrid working model, crossdepartmental workflows, and daily team dynamics.

“Quad Central stood out immediately,” Ryan recalls. “Its sustainable design, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and strong business community align with our culture: one that values collaboration, focus, and momentum. The location provides excellent access for our people and partners, reinforcing our role at the centre of Malta’s iGaming ecosystem.”

“One of the most important decisions was to avoid designing the office solely around desk capacity,” Ryan points out. Instead, the layout strikes an intuitive balance between open-plan vitality and deep focus. Flexible working neighbourhoods are interspersed with quiet booths, dedicated concentration zones, and an array of meeting suites tailored for anything from one-to-one catch-ups to 15-person strategic sessions.

“For us, this move is about more than logistics. It’s a statement of intent and a step into a space supporting the growth, energy, and shared purpose that define Gentoo Media today,” he continues.

To bring this vision to life, Gentoo Media partnered with interior architect Olivia-Ann Calleja, alongside specialist collaborators in acoustics, audiovisual integration, and bespoke lighting. “Their ability to understand the requirements of a dynamic international organisation made them the right

Spanning two expansive floors, the new headquarters was conceived through an

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2027 EDITION WORKSPACE

“FOR US, THIS MOVE IS ABOUT MORE THAN LOGISTICS. IT’S A STATEMENT OF INTENT AND A STEP INTO A SPACE SUPPORTING THE GROWTH, ENERGY, AND SHARED PURPOSE THAT DEFINE GENTOO MEDIA TODAY.” partners to help us accomplish this project,” Ryan notes. “They also understood the importance of flexibility, as our requirements naturally evolved as the project progressed.” The resulting aesthetic marries corporate refinement with contemporary warmth. Subtle branding details reinforce Gentoo Media’s identity, whilst acoustic treatments, layered materials, and warm textures ensure the atmosphere remains approachable and inviting. A key architectural priority was dismantling the invisible walls that often isolate

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departments. By designing open circulation paths and fluid seating arrangements, the office encourages organic interaction between commercial, technology, finance, human resources and operations teams. Nowhere is this communal ethos more palpable than on Level 15. Conceived as the social heart of the headquarters, this floor is dedicated to relaxation, informal connection, and shared experiences. Complete with a stylish leisure area and direct access to an expansive outdoor terrace, it offers panoramic views and a breath of fresh air during the working day.

2027 EDITION WORKSPACE

“ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS WAS TO AVOID DESIGNING THE OFFICE SOLELY AROUND DESK CAPACITY.” “Culture is created not only during formal meetings, but also through everyday conversations and shared experiences,” Ryan observes. “Level 15 has a stronger social and communal focus. The leisure area and terrace give employees somewhere to step away from their desks, take a proper break, meet informally, and spend time together.” Operating across multiple jurisdictions, Gentoo Media places seamless digital infrastructure at the core of its day-to-day operations. The meeting rooms are fully equipped with frictionless conferencing technology, enabling teams in Malta to collaborate effortlessly with remote colleagues and international offices. At the same time, employee well-being serves as an essential pillar of the design. High acoustic standards dampen ambient chatter, glare-free lighting complements ample natural daylight, and ergonomic furniture supports physical health throughout the day. “Employees spend a significant part of their week at work, so details such as natural light, the quality of the surroundings, and the availability of different spaces have a real impact on their daily experience,” says Ryan. “Quiet spaces reduce distractions and give employees more control over their working environment.”

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2027 EDITION WORKSPACE

“CULTURE IS CREATED NOT ONLY DURING FORMAL MEETINGS, BUT ALSO THROUGH EVERYDAY CONVERSATIONS AND SHARED EXPERIENCES.”

Indeed, within an industry where competition for top-tier talent is fierce, Ryan is clear that an exceptional physical workspace plays an indispensable role in the wider employee value proposition. “A well-designed office alone will not retain talent, but it is an important part of the wider employee experience,” he reflects. “Combined with career opportunities, strong leadership, and a positive culture, it can help people see Gentoo Media as somewhere they can build a long-term future.”

chapter: “The office supports stronger cross-team collaboration and faster decision-making while remaining adaptable as our teams and working practices evolve. As our headquarters, it also represents our culture, ambition and position as an established leader in the iGaming industry.” “Ultimately, we see the office as more than a physical location,” Ryan concludes. “It is a place where our culture can develop, teams can form stronger connections, and people can come together around the company’s long-term ambitions.”

Looking forward, the Quad Central headquarters represents a dynamic launchpad for the company’s next

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2027 EDITION CALENDAR

iGaming Calendar A curated guide to the key conferences, summits and industry events taking place in Malta and further afield, helping you keep track of where the sector will be meeting and connecting next. M A LTA H I G H L I G H T S

SiGMA Europe

3 - 5 MAY 2027 SiGMA Europe returns to Malta in 2027 with a fresh name and look, bringing the international gaming industry together at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre (MFCC) in Ta’ Qali for a springtime summit. The event succeeds the former SiGMA Euro-Med format and will once again place Malta at the centre of SiGMA’s European calendar.

NEXT.io Valletta

SiGMA Poker Tour Malta 4 MAY 2027

The SiGMA Poker Tour returns to Malta as part of the wider SiGMA Europe summit, with Portomaso Casino once again hosting the action alongside SiGMA. The tour combines live tournament poker with the networking element that has become part of the event brand, attracting recreational players, industry professionals and members of the international gaming community.

The programme combines a large-scale exhibition and conference with networking events, awards and associated SiGMA Poker Tour activity. Operators, suppliers, affiliates, investors and other industry stakeholders are expected to attend, with the event providing a broad platform for business development, industry discussion and networking across the wider gaming ecosystem.

The Malta stop forms part of SiGMA Europe’s programme, offering a more informal setting to meet industry peers while taking part in or following tournament play at one of Malta’s established casino venues.

NEXT.io Valletta 2027

26 - 27 MAY 2027 NEXT returns to Malta with a multi-day programme bringing together several industry events around its flagship NEXT Summit Valletta, including focused sessions on affiliate marketing and crypto, the iGaming IDOL Awards, networking activities and the main two-day summit at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. Across the programme, delegates can connect with operators, suppliers, affiliates, investors and other industry professionals while exploring topics ranging from player acquisition and emerging technology to payments, regulation and digital assets. The format combines large-scale conference content with more specialised events, giving attendees multiple opportunities to build contacts and follow the issues shaping the international iGaming sector.

SiGMA Europe

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2027 EDITION CALENDAR

iGaming Calendar GLOBAL HIGHLIGHTS

NOVEMBER 2026 2 - 5

SiGMA World Rome, Italy

MARCH 2027 15 - 17

15 - 17

AIBC Eurasia

SBC Summit Canada

Dubai, UAE

Toronto, Canada

9 - 10

Prediction Markets Summit Europe Gibraltar

EGR Operator Awards 2026 London, UK

30 - 2 DECEMBER

SiGMA South Asia

Colombo, Sri Lanka

DECEMBER 2026

APRIL 2027 5 - 8

SiGMA South America 13 - 14

Ibiza, Spain

JULY 2027 7 - 8

NEXT.io Summit

New York, United States

IGB Live

London, UK

19 - 21

SBC Summit Europe

SEPTEMBER 2027

MAY 2027

1 - 3

3 - 4

Vienna, Austria

iGaming Business Zone

São Paulo, Brazil

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

AI in iGaming Summit

JUNE 2027

SiGMA North America Mexico City, Mexico

JANUARY 2027

4 - 6

iGaming Afrika Summit Nairobi, Kenya

European iGaming Awards Barcelona, Spain

18 - 20

ICE Gaming

Barcelona, Spain

FEBRUARY 2027 15 - 17

SiGMA Africa

Cape Town, South Africa

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Barcelona. Photo by Archie McNicol - Pexels

Photo by Jacob Wackerhausen - iStock

2027 EDITION COACH

THE

Leadership

Value

Closure

Executive Coach Marion Gamel examines why leaders often devote more attention to beginnings than endings, arguing that intentional closure can transform difficult transitions into opportunities for learning and stronger leadership.

e are naturally drawn to beginnings. We crave new opportunities, announce new strategies, welcome new colleagues and launch ambitious projects with energy and optimism. Organisations invest enormous effort in attracting talent, carefully crafting employer branding, selling roles to candidates, designing onboarding experiences and creating momentum around major upcoming initiatives that candidates will lead. Beginnings capture our imagination because they are full of possibility.

“THE HARD TRUTH IS THAT, WHILE AVOIDANCE OFFERS IMMEDIATE RELIEF, CLOSURE CREATES LASTING VALUE.” 083

2027 EDITION COACH

Photo by Jacob Lund - Shutterstock

own or unanswered questions to address. Our instinct is to move on quickly. To turn the page.

As I coach leaders, I cannot help but notice that endings rarely receive the same attention as beginnings. More often, endings are quietly accelerated or discreetly abandoned. A project loses momentum and slowly disappears from conversations. A supplier stops receiving calls. A candidate stops receiving news after a series of interviews. A talented employee leaves without even a brief exit interview. A transformation project is phased out and everyone rushes towards the next priority before asking what was actually achieved.

What if that discomfort is not something to avoid, but a signal not to ignore? Leadership teaches us to recognise opportunities. Leaders scan the horizon for new markets, promising talent, strategic partnerships and innovative ideas. Yet some of the most valuable opportunities do not come in the form of exciting beginnings. They arrive in the form of uncomfortable endings. Discomfort can signal that there is still work to do: a conversation to have, a contribution to recognise, a lesson to understand or a relationship that deserves respect, even as it comes to an end.

It is not because leaders do not care. It is because, like all human beings, leaders instinctively shy away from discomfort. Endings can be uncomfortable because they are often perceived negatively: “If it ends, it was not meant to be” or “it didn’t have value.”

This is the art of closure. An ending happens naturally: contracts expire, projects finish and roles change. Closure, however, is intentional.

DEALING WITH THE DISCOMFORT OF AN ENDING When a chapter comes to an end, discomfort often appears in subtle ways. There may be difficult feedback to share, disappointment to acknowledge, gratitude to express, mistakes to

MAKING CLOSURE A CHOICE While endings happen, closure is a choice. It is the decision to pause before the next chapter and reflect on what happened, what mattered, what should be celebrated, what should be

“THE INSTINCT TO AVOID DISCOMFORT IS HUMAN. THE COURAGE TO EMBRACE IT AND REMAIN CURIOUS ABOUT IT IS LEADERSHIP.” 085

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“CLOSURE IS NOT ABOUT DWELLING ON THE PAST. IT IS ABOUT ENSURING THAT NOTHING VALUABLE IS LEFT BEHIND BEFORE STEPPING INTO THE FUTURE.” acknowledged and what should be carried forward. It is not about dwelling on the past; it is about reflecting, extracting value and learning lessons before moving on as a better leader. Ironically, we often believe that taking time for closure slows us down. The opposite is true. When disappointing outcomes are not properly analysed and lessons are not extracted, there is a risk of repeating the same mistakes. Leaders and teams who never acknowledge how something ended can struggle to fully embrace what comes next. For instance, employees who leave without clarity take unanswered questions with them. Organisations that celebrate beginnings but avoid closure miss out on a rich source of learning. The hard truth is that, while avoidance offers immediate relief, closure creates lasting value. This is why closure is not simply a process. It is a leadership choice. It takes courage to make room for a conversation that would be easier to avoid, analyse why a project fell short of expectations, thank someone whose contribution has ended or explain a difficult decision with honesty and respect. It also takes humility to recognise that every ending has something to teach us through the process of closure. The instinct to avoid discomfort is human. The courage to embrace it and remain curious about it is leadership. Every leader writes chapters in other people’s lives. Some chapters are exciting; others are difficult. All of them will eventually end. The question is not whether they end, but how these chapters are brought to a close: intentionally, carefully, respectfully and thoroughly. Will people leave with unanswered questions or with understanding? With frustration or with respect? With repeated mistakes or with valuable lessons?

The quality of leadership is not measured only by the opportunities leaders create at the beginning of a chapter; it is also measured by the meaning they create at the end. The next chapter rarely begins simply because the previous one has ended; it begins when the previous one has been properly closed.

MARION’S LEADERSHIP CLOSURE CHECK Was this ending intentional or did it simply happen? Unexpected or unplanned endings often leave unfinished business. What, if anything, still needs your attention? Does anything still feel unfinished? Discomfort is often a signal, not a problem. Is there an unanswered question, an unresolved issue or an important conversation still waiting to happen? What deserves to be learned, acknowledged or celebrated? Every chapter – whether successful or disappointing – contains lessons. What should you carry forward? Whose contribution deserves recognition before the page is turned? Is there a conversation that still needs to happen? Closure is rarely created through silence. Is there feedback to offer, gratitude to express, an explanation to provide or an apology to make? If this chapter became part of your leadership story, would you be proud of how you brought it to a close? People may forget the details of a project, but they rarely forget how they were treated at the end of it. What one conversation, acknowledgement or moment of reflection would help you bring this chapter to a more meaningful close? Closure is not about dwelling on the past. It is about ensuring that nothing valuable is left behind before stepping into the future.

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new rules THE

live

casino Live casino is no longer defined by the table alone, as operators and suppliers rethink everything from branding and personalisation to speed, entertainment and AI. Ramona Depares looks at what today’s players expect and where the format goes next.

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ive casino has evolved well beyond the virtual recreation of a physical table. As player expectations shift and operators look for new ways to differentiate their offering, the focus is increasingly moving towards the experience surrounding the game – from speed and personalisation to branding, entertainment and the role of emerging technologies. For suppliers and operators alike, the challenge is to add new layers of engagement without losing the immediacy and human interaction that made live casino distinctive in the first place. “Live casino used to be much simpler. You entered the lobby, picked a blackjack or roulette table and played. Today the journey is longer and starts much earlier. The challenge faced by platforms is not limited to integrating good live casino content. They also need to ensure the entire journey around that content is as smooth and engaging as the game itself,” BetStarters COO Glenn Debattista confirms. That said, he cautions, operators can have the most impressive studio in the world and still lose the player if the game takes too long to load or they can’t easily find what they want. This is especially true in regions like Africa, where bandwidth is limited and speed more important than visuals. “You need to balance production values with speed, navigation and ease of play. I would never sacrifice the fundamentals for the wow factor,” he elaborates. Does this also extend to branded live tables? For Mr Debattista, branded studios only become interesting when the whole experience feels like an extension of the operator’s brand, from the visual identity and environment to promotions, campaigns and how that content is positioned within the casino. “This is our approach at BetStarters. Our aim is to create a stronger sense of ownership, that feeling that you’re not just playing another supplier’s game that you will find replicated on 100 other platforms. Our objective is for the player to recognise the operator’s experience, not simply recognise their logo,” he says. He also believes that a customised live casino experience can be delivered profitably without the expense of a fully dedicated physical studio. Realistically, he tells me, not every brand has the volumes or budget to justify its own physical studio, so solutions that allow operators to customise tables and environments while sharing the underlying infrastructure can offer a very good middle ground. “You get enough exclusivity to strengthen the brand without taking on all the cost and complexity of running a dedicated studio. For me, scalability comes from standardising what the player doesn’t need to see and customising the parts they actually experience.”

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“OUR OBJECTIVE IS FOR THE PLAYER TO RECOGNISE THE OPERATOR’S EXPERIENCE, NOT SIMPLY RECOGNISE THEIR LOGO.”

Success, he argues, is not simply about initial player numbers: almost any well-promoted launch can create a spike. Mr Debattista looks at repeat play, sessions per player, session duration, retention over the following weeks and whether players continue choosing that game without heavy promotional support. “In the end, the real test is what happens when the launch campaign and incentives disappear,” he says emphatically. This is where player data and personalisation can do a lot of heavy lifting, and Mr Debattista expects both areas to develop substantially in the coming years. “Data is definitely king and it can help determine which games appear first, what gets recommended and which promotions or rewards are actually relevant to that player. The important part is using personalisation to make the experience easier and more relevant, rather than simply finding more ways to push promotions,” he explains.

Glenn Debattista

is changing. The real opportunity, for him, lies in combining the familiarity and trust of live casino with the pace, accessibility and visual impact players associate with digital entertainment.

But as live casino evolves, does the traditional casino experience still have a role to play? Mr Debattista believes so, adding that the human element has to remain at the centre of the product.

Eeze’s portfolio replicates this belief, offering classic games like blackjack, baccarat and roulette alongside game-show content and green-screen environments, gamification and operator-specific branding.

“The dealer, the interaction, the anticipation and the feeling that something is genuinely happening in real time are what separate live casino from a standard RNG game. Just like watching a live sports match! If live casino eventually feels like just another video game with a dealer somewhere in the background, then I think we’ve probably gone too far,” he concludes.

“This allows operators to refresh their live casino offering without losing the recognisable mechanics players already understand. Players increasingly expect immediacy, quality and choice. The game must load quickly, work seamlessly on mobile and feel intuitive from the opening round. However, technical performance is now simply the entry requirement. Players also want personality, interaction, strong visual presentation and moments of excitement that go beyond the underlying bet,” he emphasises.

Eeze CCO Graeme Powrie also believes that traditional games remain extremely important. However, he adds, the experience around them

Reflecting this approach, the team at Eeze treats the experience as a combination of product, presentation and engagement with multi-camera production, customisable environments, locallanguage presenters and features including tournaments, leaderboards, free spins, prize drops and targeted rewards. The sector’s growth, Mr Powrie believes, will be defined by three connected areas: faster and more entertaining versions of traditional games; game shows that combine simple mechanics with a stronger entertainment layer; and personalised and branded experiences. “Operators increasingly need content that does not look identical to every other casino lobby. Scalable branded tables, green-screen environments and exclusive game treatments give them a visible point of difference,” he says.

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Like Mr Debattista, he believes that, while game shows are becoming more strategically important, they will not be replacing traditional live casino games. “Classic games provide familiarity, trust and dependable volume. Game shows provide discovery, entertainment, differentiation and the ability to reach a wider audience. The most successful suppliers will therefore need both. We see them as complementary parts of a wider entertainment ecosystem rather than competing categories,” he attests. As for AI, Mr Powrie believes that initially this will have its greatest impact behind the scenes, supporting scheduling, capacity planning, game monitoring, fraud detection, quality assurance, translation, content moderation and analysis of player behaviour. “It can also help product teams understand which formats, presenters, features and promotions are actually improving performance. Automation should not remove the human energy that makes live casino valuable,” he insists. “AI should strengthen people rather than replace them. It can help us identify trends, optimise content, shorten development cycles, personalise experiences and support responsible gaming. The winners will be businesses that combine AI, strong technology, creative products and talented people, rather than treating AI itself as the product.”

that makes the jurisdiction valuable internationally. Eeze continues to invest in Malta because we believe that ecosystem has long-term value. Our headquarters and studios are based here, and we are expanding our Malta footprint with additional studio capacity and new offices. That is a practical vote of confidence in Malta as a centre for producing and exporting global gaming content,” he says. But can Malta compete with larger or lower-cost locations like Latvia or Romania for live casino investment and talent? The CCO believes that cost is only one component of the ecosystem.

As for virtual presenters, these may grow in popularity in the future and be well-suited to particular game formats in which the entertainment concept is intentionally virtual. However, Mr Powrie does not see them as competing with human presenters in the main.

“There will always be locations with lower property, production or employment costs. Malta’s strength is that it can provide greater value through expertise, stability, regulation and infrastructure. A sensible global studio strategy may combine production locations. High-volume or language-specific operations can be developed where the talent and economics make sense, while Malta remains a centre for leadership, product development, premium production, compliance and innovation,” he says, adding that Eeze showcases this model in practice.

“Human presenters bring spontaneity, credibility and authentic interaction. Those qualities are difficult to reproduce consistently, and they remain central to why players choose live casino over an RNG version of the same game,” he notes. What is Malta’s role in this fast-evolving ecosystem? Malta already has several clear advantages, but – to remain relevant – Mr Powrie believes the country needs to continue developing specialist talent in technology, broadcasting, data, compliance and product design.

“We are continuing to expand our Malta studio operation while also growing our development capability in Bucharest. This gives us the quality and credibility associated with Malta alongside the potential scalability of a wider international footprint,” he concludes.

“Malta provides an environment that supports innovation while maintaining the regulatory credibility

“PLAYERS ALSO WANT PERSONALITY, INTERACTION, STRONG VISUAL PRESENTATION AND MOMENTS OF EXCITEMENT THAT GO BEYOND THE UNDERLYING BET.” Graeme Powrie

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ARE

prediction

markets regulatory MALTA’ S NEXT

FRONTIE R?

Malta built its iGaming reputation by moving early to create a licensing framework. Now, prediction markets are blurring the line between betting, trading, and forecasting. Is Malta laying the groundwork to repeat that playbook? Ramona Depares reports.

Photo by janews - Shutterstock

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rediction markets have moved quickly from a relatively obscure format into one of the most closely watched areas of the wider betting and trading landscape. Platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi allow users to stake money on whether a future event will happen, with prices typically reflecting the market’s collective view of how likely that outcome is. These sites have helped popularise markets on elections, sport, economic indicators and geopolitical events while raising a more difficult question for regulators: what exactly are these products? Depending on how they are structured, prediction markets look eerily similar to betting exchanges. The ambiguity is now testing regulatory boundaries in several jurisdictions, particularly as established gaming companies begin to assess whether the sector represents a new vertical, a competitive threat to traditional sportsbooks or both. Malta is already part of that debate, with leading conferences like NEXT.io dedicating significant stage-time to the topic during its annual conference on the island. The Malta Gaming Authority has indicated that some products could potentially sit within its existing licensing framework, while Malta-based suppliers like SOFTSWISS have begun developing products aimed at operators looking for exposure to the sector. That creates a familiar policy question for the jurisdiction. Malta built much of its iGaming reputation by regulating early, offering legal certainty at a time when online gambling was still developing. Prediction markets now present a similar regulatory challenge, with a legally significant question at its heart: how far can Malta’s existing framework accommodate prediction markets and would moving early give us a competitive edge without creating new regulatory risks? And before even attempting to answer this question, the elephant in the room should also be addressed: should prediction markets even be classified as gambling? Despite many who would claim otherwise, Dr Christopher Dalli, CEO of Malta-based online gaming operator L&L Europe, is in no doubt about the answer. “Yes, certainly. They are clearly a form of gambling – you are staking an amount of money on an uncertain future event, relying on chance and receiving a financial payout directly related to the outcome. These are classical characteristics of all forms of real-money betting,” he insists.

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“ALLOWING PREDICTION MARKETS TO RUN RIOT WITHOUT OBTAINING THE NECESSARY REGULATORY APPROVALS RISKS ENDANGERING MALTA’S REPUTATION AS A LEGITIMATE REGULATOR.” Dr Christopher Dalli

Dr Dalli believes that regulations should fall squarely under the jurisdiction of both the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). The situation, he elaborates, isn’t particularly new. The CEO uses the issue of binary options – where the payoff depends on a simple yes/no answer to be fulfilled by a certain time – to illustrate his point, describing how these initially fell under the remit of the MGA but eventually ended up being “diplomatically discouraged by being placed under the remit of the MFSA with strict conditions”. In this case, he believes that a compromise can be found where prediction markets wholly embrace their gambling nature and exclude certain categories of contracts in order to function wholly under the MGA.

There are plenty who disagree. Paul Grewal, former senior lawyer at Coinbase, took to X to announce that “prediction markets are fundamentally different from sportsbooks. Casinos win only if you lose and set odds to maximise their profits. Prediction markets are neutral exchanges, indifferent to price, that match buyers and sellers.” The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission appears to agree, in principle, claiming exclusive jurisdiction in a February press statement and effectively denying the same to gambling regulators in America. Dr Dalli acknowledges that the grey area is present, particularly in “what is understood by financial events”. But he adds: “In general, regardless of the underlying subject matter (whether it’s a result in a football game, who will be the next Prime Minister in the upcoming election, or whether the Central Bank increases its interest rate at the next meeting), the reality of what is being done doesn’t change. Staking money on the outcome of a future event is a wager, pure and simple.”

Lending further strength to Dr Dalli’s argument is the hardline approach already taken by some other European countries. In France, prediction markets are illegal, while Polymarket and Kalshi (the two main prediction market platforms) face legal proceedings in Spain. What lessons should Malta draw from their approach? “It is no surprise that France and Spain have taken swift enforcement action because failing to do so would simply mean allowing unlicensed gambling in their territory under the loophole of financial trading. The latter would require regulation in Europe in any case,” Dr Dalli notes. “Allowing prediction markets to run riot without obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals risks endangering Malta’s reputation as a legitimate regulator and might prejudice our position when defending other matters central to the operation and success of our current framework. If any prediction market is currently operating in or from Malta and taking Maltese customers, then Malta should follow suit with enforcement action.” MGA Chief Regulatory Officer Martha Brincat in fact confirms that the regulator has been closely monitoring developments, particularly as interest in this area has grown across multiple jurisdictions. Ms Brincat notes that different regulatory approaches are emerging

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internationally, with regulators taking varying positions. Interest from industry stakeholders is likewise strong, with existing MGA licensees exploring how prediction market products could complement their current offerings and prospective entrants assessing opportunities within Malta’s regulatory framework. How does the MGA define prediction markets? “While prediction markets are often presented as a new product category, many share characteristics with offerings that have existed within regulated betting markets for years. From the MGA’s perspective, regulatory treatment is determined by the underlying activity, including how outcomes are generated, how participants engage with the product and the risks associated with that activity. Product labels alone do not determine the applicable regulatory framework,” Ms Brincat says, adding that Malta’s gaming framework was intentionally designed to accommodate technological change, product innovation and evolving business models. “Depending on their structure, prediction market products may already fall within the scope of existing licence categories, particularly Type 2 (fixed odds betting) or Type 3 (peer-to-peer or exchange-based betting) licences. That said, some models introduce features that warrant further consideration. The MGA is examining the characteristics, risks and operating models of these products to determine the most appropriate regulatory approach. Any regulatory response must remain proportionate, risk-based and aligned with Malta’s broader public policy objectives. At the same time, prediction markets continue to evolve rapidly, particularly in relation to the range of underlying events, market structures and participation models being developed internationally.”

In view of this, Ms Brincat says, the MGA’s assessment has also considered the interaction between gaming regulation and financial services legislation in circumstances where certain products may exhibit characteristics commonly associated with financial instruments. In particular, the regulator is examining whether particular product features raise distinct regulatory considerations and whether further guidance may assist in promoting greater clarity, consistency and regulatory certainty across the sector. And, as products and technologies continue to evolve, regulation must also remain sufficiently adaptable to respond to changing market dynamics.

“DEPENDING ON THEIR STRUCTURE, PREDICTION MARKET PRODUCTS MAY ALREADY FALL WITHIN THE SCOPE OF EXISTING LICENCE CATEGORIES.”

“Prediction markets represent one of a number of developments currently being evaluated by the Authority. Malta has traditionally attracted operators by providing a stable, predictable and innovation-friendly regulatory environment. Any future approach to prediction markets would need to support those same objectives while ensuring that appropriate safeguards remain in place and that operators have a clear understanding of regulatory expectations,” she insists, while pointing out that Malta’s experience shows that innovation thrives where operators have clear rules, consistent supervision and confidence in the regulatory framework. “Those principles remain just as relevant when considering emerging products such as prediction markets,” she concludes.

Martha Brincat

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