The UK's e-gaming industry could be set for a "mass exodus" to Malta if the hotly-disputed UK Gambling Bill is passed without amendments.
Mario Galea, chief executive of Malta's Lotteries and Gaming Authority, told The Times he had already been approached by "a good number" of UK operators, including one which was extremely well known.
UK operators are concerned that their government is leaning towards an all-or-nothing approach whereby any firm with a presence in the UK must have all its remote gaming operations there.
British regulations require gaming servers to be located offshore, but the lack of a clear regulatory or tax picture makes it unlikely many will consider moving their servers back.
According to e-Gaming Review, the online journal, this means that the UK could lose several high-profile e-gaming names, which would be forced to relocate to Malta, the only other licensed EU gaming domicile.
Mr Galea said the UK was playing a dangerous game by moving away from a pure regulatory approach and adopting a business agenda.
On the contrary, Malta provided clearly set regulations and its gaming structures were considered to be ideal, even if the tax structures were not very different from the UK's.
In a billion-dollar industry, any shift of e-gaming to Malta would translate into big revenue and the creation of jobs, with the setting up of call centres, Mr Galea said.
Though he did not wish to give details, Mr Galea confirmed that one of the so-called first-tier operators and several second-tier companies had expressed serious interest in setting up shop in Malta.
Among the names included in the first-tier are companies like William Hill and Ladbroke's.
The only sticking point that could hamper the influx of new companies is the bandwidth allocation, though there is a possibility of expanding the infrastructure.
The story is a repeat of events that took place four years ago when the UK was forced to drop the tax on winnings in response to another threat by the major land-based operators to move their online operations to Malta.
"We had all of the major operators ready to move to Malta at the time, but the UK government did a deal with them and they all stayed in the UK," Mr Galea said.
But this time the story could be different.
One source told e-Gaming Review: "At the moment it looks as if the whole industry is thinking of moving to Malta if the proposed law isn't changed.
"We have UK operators interested in Malta as a lot of people are angry and frustrated with the Gambling Bill," he said.
When contacted, e-Gambling Review editor Alun Bowden said there seemed to be consensus among operators that Malta could be the perfect replacement for the UK.
"There is clear discontent in the gaming industry in the UK - and Malta will certainly be more than happy if some of the operators shift there. There's big money in this industry," he said.
There are currently around 30 online gaming companies operating from Malta.