Malta's New Gaming Tax Starts on 1 October: 15% on Casino, 10% on Betting

A flat 5% tax and a device levy give way to rates by game type, but only on play by people in Malta. The bigger change for the island's exporters is VAT: most remote gaming loses its exemption, which lets operators recover input tax.

• From 1 October 2026 Malta taxes gaming offered to players in Malta by game type: 15% on Type 1 games such as casino and RNG games, and 10% on Types 2, 3 and 4, which cover betting against the house, commission-based play and controlled skill games
• The new structure, set by Legal Notice 84 of 2026, replaces a flat 5% gaming tax and a separate gaming device levy; gaming in controlled premises and qualifying junket events is taxed at 5%
• A €3,000 annual studio broadcasting levy replaces a €500 charge for suppliers that film or broadcast live games in Malta
• Under Legal Notice 86, the VAT exemption narrows to low-risk games, occasional junket events and on-site betting at sporting venues, so most remote gaming becomes taxable where it is supplied to Malta
• The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and the tax administration say the changes respond to industry feedback and will allow operators to recover input VAT

A Domestic Tax, Rewritten by Game Type

Malta's gaming tax changes shape on Thursday 1 October. Legal Notice 84 of 2026, the Gaming Tax (Amendment) Regulations, published in the Government Gazette on 1 April with Legal Notice 86 amending the VAT Act, merges the existing gaming tax and the gaming device levy into a single tax classified by game type and mode of offer, the Malta Gaming Authority and the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA) said in a joint statement on 2 April.

The rates follow the MGA's game-type definitions. Type 1, games of chance against the house decided by a random number generator, which covers casino games, virtual sports, house-banked poker and lotteries, is taxed at 15%. Types 2, 3 and 4, betting against the house on the result of an event, commission-based games such as peer-to-peer poker, bingo and betting exchanges, and controlled skill games, are taxed at 10%, according to briefings by the advisory firm Expatax and European Gaming. Gaming in controlled premises and at qualifying junket events is taxed at 5%. The old regime charged a flat 5% on qualifying activity plus any device levy, according to PwC Malta.

The scope is the point. The new framework "applies only to gaming services provided within Malta", the joint statement said, covering land-based and online operators serving players present in Malta; for remote gaming, liability depends on whether the player is established, has a permanent address or usually resides there. Malta-licensed operators serving players elsewhere are not taxed on that play under these rules. Suppliers that use premises in Malta as a studio to film or broadcast gaming pay a fixed €3,000 studio broadcasting levy each year, replacing a €500 levy that was waived for licensees already paying the device levy.

VAT Is the Change Most Operators Will Feel

Legal Notice 86 narrows the VAT exemption for gambling to categories approved by the minister. The MTCA's guidelines of 6 April name three: low-risk games, occasional junket events, and gambling facilities on a sporting event available only at the venue. Everything else becomes taxable for Maltese VAT where it is supplied in Malta, which, according to Deloitte Malta, will in principle cover the supplies of most operators, including sports betting and live casino. The MGA and MTCA said the narrower exemption "will lead to a natural right of recovery of eligible input VAT costs", and Grant Thornton Malta describes it as aligning Malta with the place-of-consumption principle for digital services.

The reform lands as Malta's regulator is also dealing with a breach of its licensee portal and has just issued a voluntary AI charter for operators.

Malta Is Raising Its Domestic Rate While Protecting Its Export Model

The headline rates tripled for casino and doubled for betting, but they apply to a small domestic market, and the revenue at stake is modest next to the island's value as a licensing base. The design keeps what matters to Malta's international licensees intact: no tax on play by players elsewhere, and a VAT change that turns irrecoverable input VAT into something operators can reclaim on their Maltese costs. That is why the MGA describes the package as responding to industry feedback rather than as a tax rise. For operators with large Maltese cost bases, the recovery of input VAT may outweigh the domestic rate increase.

The Timing Sits Against a Tougher European Mood on Tax

Malta is simplifying while other European capitals are raising gambling taxes sharply, from Britain's 40% remote gaming duty to the EU-wide online levy that Poland's trade bodies have just rejected. A 15% casino rate on local play is still low by those standards, and the island's pitch to the operators it licenses rests on keeping the export business untaxed. The risk is that a jurisdiction lightening the load on its licensees, while other states tax the same companies more heavily at the point of consumption, becomes a sharper target in the European debate over where online gambling should be taxed.

Malta has rewritten its gaming tax without touching the business that makes it a licensing hub. From next Thursday, the change will be felt more in operators' VAT returns than in their gaming tax bills.