{"id":12568,"date":"2026-05-08T09:34:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T07:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatax.mt\/?p=12568"},"modified":"2026-05-12T18:08:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T16:08:53","slug":"how-maltas-gaming-tax-changes-will-affect-igaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatax.mt\/da\/how-maltas-gaming-tax-changes-will-affect-igaming\/","title":{"rendered":"How Malta\u2019s Gaming Tax Changes Will Affect iGaming Companies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malta has been the world’s go-to jurisdiction for online gaming licensing since it passed the Remote Gaming Regulations in 2004<\/a> \u2014 the first framework of its kind in the EU. Today, with roughly 700 licensed operators and a sector that contributes an estimated 12% of GDP and employs over 10,000 people on the island, Malta’s regulatory decisions carry real weight across the global industry. The changes coming on 1 October 2026 are no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reform is based on Legal Notice 84 of 2026<\/a><\/strong>, which amends the Gaming Tax Regulations, andLegal Notice 86 of 2026<\/strong><\/a>, which amends the Fifth Schedule to Malta\u2019s VAT Act. Both were published in the Government Gazette<\/a> p\u00e5 1 April 2026<\/strong>. Together, they represent the most significant reshaping of Malta’s gaming tax and VAT framework in years. The Malta Gaming Authority and the Malta Tax and Customs Administration have framed the reform as a move toward greater clarity, competitiveness and regulatory certainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For iGaming<\/a> companies, the main issue is not simply \u201cmore tax\u201d<\/a>. The more important change is that Malta is narrowing the VAT exemption for gambling services. This may affect VAT treatment, input VAT recovery, pricing, systems, reporting and how certain services are classified. The MGA and MTCA have explicitly identified a “natural right of recovery of eligible input VAT costs” as one of the intended effects of the reform. In other words, for some operators, moving from exempt to taxable could actually improve the economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VAT exemption is getting narrower<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Under EU VAT law, gambling services have historically enjoyed a broad exemption, rooted in Article 135(1)(i) of the EU VAT Directive<\/a>. Malta applied this with a fairly wide brush. Legal Notice 86 of 2026<\/a> narrows it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1 October 2026, the VAT exemption without credit is expected to apply only to a limited set of activities. Deloitte<\/em>, KPMG<\/em> og PwC<\/em> all report that the remaining exempt categories are expected to include low-risk games, approved occasional junket events and in-venue betting at sports events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What this means in practice is that a significant portion of online gambling and betting services that previously sat comfortably inside the VAT exemption may now become taxable, where the supply is deemed to take place in Malta. And here is where the picture becomes more nuanced than a straightforward cost increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the old framework, operators providing exempt supplies were largely unable to recover the VAT they paid on their own business expenses. That unrecovered VAT quietly sat inside operating costs: on technology, software, marketing, professional fees, staffing and everything else. The MGA and MTCA have explicitly identified a “natural right of recovery of eligible input VAT costs” as one of the intended effects of the reform. In other words, for some operators, moving from exempt to taxable could actually improve the economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the consolidated structure, the new rates are straightforward. Remote gaming operators will pay 15% on Type 1 game revenue and 10% on Type 2, 3 and 4 game revenue, where players are resident in Malta. Gaming conducted within a controlled premises or qualifying junket events attracts a lower rate of 5%. For operators running studios in Malta for filming or broadcasting gaming services, the annual Studio Broadcasting Levy rises from \u20ac500 to \u20ac3,000. Taken together, the new structure trades complexity for clarity \u2014 fewer moving parts, more predictable liabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Input VAT recovery: the opportunity inside the reform<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is the part that tends to get buried in the legal detail, but it deserves direct attention. For operators whose services become taxable in Malta, the reform could open up meaningful VAT recovery<\/a> on costs that were previously stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Areas where improved recovery could be commercially relevant include:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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