Gaming companies are applauding the Gaming Act, which comes into force on July 1 and will allow them to operate with one licence across various platforms.

The Act has reviewed and consolidated the legislation covering the gaming industry into a single law aimed at repositioning the sector.

It is the first revision in 14 years, during which the industry has grown to 12 per cent of GDP.

The revision of the law was one of the first priorities of Joe Cuschieri when he took over at the helm of the Malta Gaming Authority in 2014.

“We now have a B2B or N2C licensing regime, which allows operators to have a single licence, rather than the previous class system.

“The industry lobbied for it, and it is the way to go – in fact, many other jurisdictions offer this,” Mr Cuschieri told The Sunday Times of Malta.

“It also simplifies regulatory compliance and avoids duplication of requirements,” he added.

The move was welcomed by two of the top betting companies in Malta. Jesper Svensson of Betsson said: “This is indeed a breakthrough for Maltese operators, as it reduces the administrative burde, but maintains the robustness of the regulation and control of operators.”

His enthusiasm was matched by that of Henrik Tajernstrom of Kindred: “It is something that we had been acting very actively with the MGA to secure

“It means that we do not have to have a dozen licences but can have just one umbrella licence. This saves a lot of administration for both the operators and the regulator.

“The main benefit for us with the multilicence system is that we can launch new products quicker than we have done before, thereby giving our customers a better and more relevant experience when they want it,” Mr Tajernstrom said.