Malta’s differentiated gaming-tax rates take effect

Malta’s revised gaming-tax rules took effect on 1 October 2026 under Legal Notice 84 of 2026. The regulation calculates tax on aggregate gaming revenue from qualifying services and replaces the previous structure with rates based on game type and mode of offer. [1]

Type 1 services, which include house-banked random games such as casino games, are taxed at 15%. Types 2, 3 and 4 are taxed at 10%; those categories cover event-based betting, commission-based and player-versus-player games, and controlled skill games. Qualifying activity generated in controlled gaming premises, or lawfully classified as a junket or junket event, is taxed at 5%. The notice removes the separate gaming-device levy as the framework is consolidated. It also sets a separate €3,000 levy, payable in advance for 12 months, for a critical gaming-supply provider using studio premises to film or broadcast a gaming service. [1] [2]

Cover photograph: Trajcinema, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Cropped and resized.

The rules do not simply apply one rate to all revenue of every Malta licensee. They define which activity qualifies and, for services offered solely by distance communication, the determination does not depend on the player’s physical presence in Malta; it depends on whether the player is established there, has a permanent address there or usually resides there. MGA’s game-type definitions distinguish RNG casino-style games from event-based betting, commission-based games and controlled skill games. [1] [3]

The Malta Gaming Authority says September 2026 returns remain due on 20 October under the previous reporting regime. Its portal is scheduled to support the revised rules by 1 November; October-period submissions, due 20 November, will use the updated portal. This makes the change operational as well as fiscal: the applicable rate turns on activity classification and the customer-scope test, while the first reporting month transitions to a new portal workflow. A separate VAT amendment, Legal Notice 86, also took effect on 1 October; the rates above concern gaming tax under Legal Notice 84. [4] [1]

Sources

• [1] Government of Malta: Legal Notice 84 of 2026 — Gaming Tax (Amendment) Regulations, 2026
• [2] European Gaming: Malta’s revised VAT and gaming tax frameworks now in force
• [3] Malta Gaming Authority: What are the different types of games that are licensable by the Authority?
• [4] Malta Gaming Authority: Revised VAT and Gaming Tax Frameworks Come into Effect Tomorrow