By virtue of the EU’s Treaty Freedom of ‘Freedom of Establishment’, Malta is probably the most advantageous jurisdiction were a gaming operator should incorporate its EEA gaming business.  This is such for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:

• other EEA gaming regulators accept Maltese incorporated companies to hold a gaming license in their jurisdiction, with jurisdictions such as Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Romania, having more than 50% of their licensees being a Maltese company;
• Malta being the largest and most comprehensive gaming eco-system, including the housing of the fully supply chain and service provision framework; and
• a competitive tax structure based on a tax imputation model, including the carrying forward of tax losses to set-off tax profits in subsequent years

Clients wishing to setup a Maltese company will typically establish a holding company and a subsidiary trading company. At incorporation stage, the shareholders are only required to contribute a minimum of €1,165 by way of share capital for each company setup.

Share capital requirements may vary depending under which gaming jurisdiction would the Malta company be operating under.  In the case of a Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) license application, at the final approval stage of the license, the company’s share capital must be increased in line with the MGA’s game type requirements, as follows:

Companies with multiple gaming types under the same license, are required to meet the above share capital requirements cumulatively up to a maximum capping of €240,000.

At incorporation stage, each company must also have a registered office address based in Malta. This can either be provided through an authorised Corporate Service Provider, such as Afilexion Alliance, or else by renting out office space in Malta.

Licensees must also have at least one director (which also needs to be approved prior to appointment in the case of an MGA license), and a company secretary, whose role is to ensure that the necessary filings with the relevant authorities are submitted on time. While there is no limitation as to the nationality or residence of the company secretary, it is recommended that the company secretary service should be based in Malta to ensure constant compliance and keeping up to date with the relevant rules and requirements.

Your trusted CSP can help ensure that the company can be incorporated in a timely manner with the Malta Business Registry, and further ensure that all the necessary filings are submitted on time and in full compliance with all the applicable rules and regulations.

If you require further information as how to set up your company in Malta, you may contact Afilexion Alliance’s Dr Cherise Abela Grech or Reuben Portanier.

Afilexion is authorised by the MFSA to provide assistance with company formation as well as corporate services throughout the lifetime of the company.