Norwegian man wins €4.8 million on Malta-based gaming site
A man in his forties from Norway has won over €4.8 million on the Malta-based online gaming site Betsson, with a stake of just €5. The win is the largest payout in Betsson’s history, and one of the largest in online gaming ever.
“The jackpot has built up over a long time, and it is always nice when a normal customer becomes a Betsson millionaire. The prize is the largest single win we have ever paid out, and shows that it is possible to win big even with small stakes,” says Magnus Silfverberg, CEO of Betsson Malta Ltd.
The gamer from Norway hit the jackpot after betting €5 on Betsson’s Arabian Nights online game. Jackpots have grown significantly in recent years as the number of online gamers increased, and online games are increasingly competing with the national lotteries to fulfil the Europeans’ dreams of becoming millionaires, the company said.
Nevertheless, Betsson added, it encourages responsible gaming, and enforces strict limits on stake sizes.
“We are very focused on facilitating responsible gaming. Among other things, we have strict regulations regarding maximum stake amounts, and also have a specialist Responsible Gaming employee who works solely on reducing the risk of gaming addiction,” Mr Silfverberg said.
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Roderick Micallef
Mar 17th 2010, 05:41
I have to agree with Mr.Wally Vella-Zarb that unfortunately for some odd reason the 'Malta-based online gaming' sector is never simply referred to as gambling web-sites. Most of the time these are simply online casinos and various research results around the globe have shown that the latter are far more addictive then the real life casinos.
The reason mainly is because the people playing are using digital money and not real cash, this has the same effect of shoppers using plastic money (credit cards) for their shopping. When real money is not used a tendency to loose the grip on the expenditure grows fast.
On the other hand these type of businesses are generating a substantial amount of revenue and job opportunities for Malta therefore the comment 'one man's loss (or woman) is another person's gain' is 100% right.
What I would suggest to the local media is that when an article about some exhorbitant winning is printed the amount of money gambled on that site should also be included, the leading casino in Malta updates a board that shows how much money has been gambled and how much money was bailed out in winnings giving a fair overview!
Stefan Camilleri
Mar 16th 2010, 01:48
@Mr Vella-Zarb: Yes, the iGaming industry is based very much on Gambling, but then again, so is our local Super 5, as well as the National lottery... these too are games of chance.
Malta has built its reputation by implementing a solid legistlation through the LGA that focuses heavily on protecting the gamer against chances of addiction, including limits on amounts played, and enforced linking to gaming-addiction help on all iGaming sites hosted in Malta.
Therefore, whether you call it gaming, or gambling, it's really one and the same, and makes no difference essentially.
As Mr Poitier correctly pointed out, the chances of winning are there, and ensured by the LGA where applicable. In some cases, a winner is also guaranteed on online Casinos, or Scratch-Card games, which is far better than the odds on our local Super 5.
George Poitier
Mar 15th 2010, 17:40
One must make a distinction between what is good and bad. Yes, it is gambling, if it is your money and if you gamble wisely, then good for you. Just a reminder, the latest trend for new millionaires are online gaming companies. Almost 300 of them are listed as having made in excess of $100 million dollars last year. Therefore one man's loss (or woman) is another person's gain. So I suppose a lot of people are loosing and yes, once in a while we hear of one good win.
wally vella-zarb
Mar 15th 2010, 15:19
Would someone please be so kind as to explain why this online 'gaming' is not called by its more appropriate name, i.e., 'GAMBLING' ?