ICT and eGaming Hub

Information and Communication Technology Hub

Malta’s ambitious plans to become a European ICT Hub are yielding rewards and attracting significant investment.

  • 1st in both Online Sophistication and Full online Availability (European Commission’s 2009 Benchmarking Report on eGovernment Services)
  • 23rd Position in e-readiness rating (Economist Intelligence Unit 2010)

In Malta you are never very far from the internet. There are more than 140 free Wi-Fi hotspots around the country, providing online access to anyone with a laptop or smartphone. And with some 98 per cent of government services now online, Malta has become one of the most connected countries in the world. It is currently ranked number 30 out of 192 countries in the UN’s E-Government Development Index, ahead of far larger neighbours such as Italy.

The Maltese Government is now ranked as the third most successful government in the world in promoting ICT by the World Economic Forum; and the sector is contributing 7 percent of the GDP. The target for the future is clear: Malta is set to become one of the top 10 information societies in the world.

Malta has already attracted foreign direct investment within the ICT industry. Global brands such as Oracle, Microsoft, HP and SAP have all established operations on the island, while more specialised software developers such as Crimsonwing, Uniblue, GFI, Anvil, 2i, RS2 and Ixaris (Entropay) have equally found the island to be a profitable and productive location.


Online Gaming

Over the past years Malta has successfully established itself as a leading, serious and well-regulated European online gaming jurisdiction, whereby till end of 2011, more than 280 companies holding over 430 licenses opted to be regulated by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority. Nouv offers a “one-stop-shop” service to online gaming operators by assisting in setting up / re-locating their gaming operation to Malta.

The Government of Malta had carried out a complete revision and consolidation of the gaming legislation, and a new all-encompassing gaming law was enacted by the Maltese Parliament in virtue of which the Malta Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA) has been set up. Since inception, the Authority’s aim was that of regulating the gaming sector effectively, responsibly and diligently.

The primary legislation that was designed in 2001 and the remote gaming regulations that came into force in 2004, provided the Authority the necessary parameters to exercise its regulatory role, which could stand the test of technological developments, whilst also focusing on the importance of responsible gaming.

Gibraltar, Alderney and the Isle of Man are other popular jurisdictions in Europe for licensing of remote gaming operations, however, Malta is the only jurisdiction that is an EU member state and thus the only country that in essence offers the possibility of “free movement of goods and services” within the huge EU market. According to information compiled by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority (May 2008), around 95% of remote gaming operators come from Europe.

Nouv offers a “one-stop-shop” service to online gaming operators by assisting in setting up or re-locating their gaming operation to Malta.