In a little over two weeks, on 1 October 2026, Malta changes how it taxes gambling on its own soil. The flat 5% gaming tax that has applied to operators serving players in Malta under the current regulations since 2018 gives way to two rates, 15% and 10%, depending on the type of game. The separate levy on gaming devices disappears. And the VAT exemption for gambling is rewritten.
The changes were published on 1 April in two legal notices, L.N. 84 of 2026 on gaming tax and L.N. 86 of 2026 on VAT. The next day the Malta Gaming Authority and the Malta Tax and Customs Administration issued a joint notice explaining them, and gave the industry six months to prepare. As of mid-September, nothing has been published to postpone them.
Here is what changes, for whom, and what it does not touch.
First, the Scope: Malta's Own Market
The most important sentence in the joint notice is about scope. The reconfigured gaming tax, it says, "shall apply exclusively to gaming services provided within the territory of Malta."
That matters because Malta's licensing regime covers gaming services provided from Malta as well as to players in Malta, while the gaming tax in the Gaming Tax Regulations has always been charged only on the domestic slice: gaming services offered to players who are in Malta. The reform keeps that structure. A Malta-licensed operator serving players in other countries does not start paying 15% on that revenue in October.
The test for who counts as a Malta player is spelled out in the new regulation 3. For land-based gaming, it is a player physically present in Malta when the service is provided. For gaming offered solely by distance communication, presence is not the test: what counts is whether the player is established, has a permanent address or usually resides in Malta.
The Old System: 5% Plus a Device Levy
To see what changes, start with the rules that apply until 30 September.
Under regulation 3 of the Gaming Tax Regulations as they stand, any person offering a gaming service to a player in Malta pays 5% of gaming revenue, meaning broadly stakes minus winnings, or for commission-based games the charges and fees earned. On top of that, land-based operators pay a levy on gaming devices, set out in regulation 5:
- 30% of gaming revenue from devices offering Type 1 or Type 2 games in gaming premises
- 12.5% for devices offering Type 3 or Type 4 games in gaming premises
- 15% for devices in controlled gaming premises
- 2.5% for junkets and junket events
A studio used to film or broadcast gaming paid a fixed levy of €500 a year.
In practice, that meant two very different tax burdens. An online operator with Maltese customers paid 5%. A casino slot machine paid 5% plus a 30% device levy.
The New System: 15% or 10%, by Game Type
From 1 October, the new regulation 3 replaces both layers with a single gaming tax on aggregate gaming revenue:
- 15% for Type 1 gaming services
- 10% for Type 2, Type 3 and Type 4 gaming services
- 5% for gaming generated in controlled gaming premises, and for activity lawfully classified as a junket or junket event
The device levy in regulation 5 is deleted. The heading of Part III becomes "Studio Broadcasting Levy", and the fixed levy for a studio used to film or broadcast gaming rises from €500 to €3,000 a year. The joint notice describes the result as a consolidation of the existing gaming tax and device levy into a single structure classified by game type and mode of offer.
The game types come from the First Schedule to the Gaming Authorisations Regulations:
- Type 1: games of chance played against the house with a random outcome, such as roulette, blackjack, baccarat, poker against the house, lotteries, secondary lotteries and virtual sports.
- Type 2: games played against the house where the outcome depends on an external event or competition and the operator manages its risk through the odds it offers. In plain terms, fixed-odds betting.
- Type 3: games not played against the house, where the operator earns a commission or charge, such as player-versus-player poker, bingo and betting exchanges.
- Type 4: controlled skill games.
Who Pays More, Who Pays Less
Put the old and new rules side by side and the reform is a reset, not a straightforward rise.
Online operators with Maltese players pay more. Their rate on Malta revenue moves from 5% to 15% for casino-type games and to 10% for betting and commission-based games. For an online casino, that is three times the old rate on its domestic business.
Land-based gaming devices pay less. A Type 1 device in gaming premises carried 5% gaming tax plus a 30% device levy. From October it carries 15%. A device in controlled gaming premises carried 5% plus 15%. From October the rate for controlled gaming premises is 5%.
Junket activity on devices moves from 5% gaming tax plus a 2.5% device levy to a single 5% rate.
Any Type 1 revenue from players in Malta that was not carrying a device levy, online or on land, moves from 5% to 15%.
The joint notice presents this as the aim: "simplified and equitable gaming tax rates for both land-based and online operators" offering gaming to players present in Malta, and a reconfiguration "specifically designed to ensure a well-balanced overall impact" on the sector.
The VAT Side
The second half of the reform is VAT. The exemption for gambling sits in item 9 of Part Two of the Fifth Schedule to the VAT Act. Until 30 September it reads: "Government lotto and lotteries, the supply of agency services related thereto, and such other supplies related to gambling as may be approved by the Minister."
From 1 October, L.N. 86 replaces it with: "Betting, lotteries and other forms of gambling, as may be approved by the Minister."
On paper that is a one-line change. The joint notice explains the intent. The scope of the VAT exemption for gambling will be clarified, particularly in relation to sports betting and certain casino offerings, together with guidance on how the place of supply rules apply, so that taxation at the place of consumption is reflected. Where the exemption no longer applies, operators gain what the notice calls a natural right to recover eligible input VAT. Put simply: supplies that fall outside the exemption become taxable, and the VAT an operator pays on its own costs for those supplies becomes recoverable.
Which offerings fall on which side of the line will depend on the Minister's approvals and on guidelines. The joint notice says the MTCA will issue supporting guidelines to establish the VAT framework, and that further guidance from the MTCA and the MGA will follow to support implementation. Operators with Maltese customers should be reading every piece of it as it appears.
Other Changes in L.N. 84
A few further amendments come with the reform:
- Corporate groups holding a group licence are treated as a single "person" for the gaming tax, a rule that moves into the new regulation 3.
- Overpayments of gaming tax are not refundable and carry no interest, but can be set off against gaming tax due in later tax periods.
- Relief: the MGA may, by binding instrument, regulate reductions, credits, set-offs and other reliefs, unilaterally or under agreements with foreign governments and authorities.
- The transitory provisions of Part VII, which dated from the 2018 regime and the National Lottery licence, are deleted.
Payment mechanics stay monthly. At the end of each reference month, the operator determines the gaming revenue from each type of gaming service and computes the tax due under the new regulation 3.
The Industry Behind the Numbers
The scale of what is being taxed differently is small against the size of the sector. The MGA's annual report for 2025, published on 7 July 2026, estimates the gaming sector's gross value added at €1,422 million in 2025, about 6.3% of Malta's economic output, and 8.2% including spillover effects. At the end of 2025 the MGA counted 302 licensed companies holding 311 licences, and an estimated 15,039 full-time equivalent employees working in Malta with MGA-licensed operators.
The same report puts the sector's compliance contributions, licence fees, levies and consumption tax at €82.4 million in 2025. The consumption tax in that figure is the 5% on customers located in Malta that the reform now replaces. In other words, the payments the sector makes to the Authority, of which the domestic gaming tax is one part, are small next to the value the industry adds. The reform rebalances that part and leaves the licensing framework itself untouched.
For the wider picture of the industry and why companies set up here, the overview of Malta's iGaming and fintech hub is the background piece, and the 2026 budget summary covers the budget in which, according to the joint notice, the government announced the commitment behind the reform.
What Operators Should Be Doing Now
With the start date two weeks away, the practical list is short.
Map your Malta revenue by game type. From October, the rate depends on whether revenue comes from Type 1 or Types 2 to 4 games, and for land-based operators whether it is generated in controlled gaming premises. Your reporting must split it that way from the first reference month.
Check your player location logic. For remote gaming, the test is where the player is established, has a permanent address or usually resides, not where they happen to be logged in. That affects which revenue counts as Maltese.
Review VAT across your offerings. If some of your supplies leave the exemption, they become taxable and your input VAT position changes. Watch for the MTCA's guidelines and the Minister's approvals under the new item 9.
Separate gaming tax from corporate tax. None of this changes how the company's profits are taxed. That is a separate regime, explained in the guide to Malta's corporate tax, the refund system and the 15% election, and it sits alongside the substance requirements that any licensed operator needs to meet.
For new entrants, the timing is simple: a company launching a Malta-facing product after 1 October will only ever know the new rates. For everyone already serving Maltese players, 30 September is the last day of the 5% regime.
Work with Sebastian
If you want to work out how these rules apply to your own company, trust or personal position in Malta before the next deadline, book a consultation.
