Malta’s relationship with gambling is long, deeply woven into national life, and unusually consequential for such a small country. From the founding of the National Lottery in 1934 and the opening of Dragonara Casino in 1964, to becoming the first EU member state to adopt detailed online-gaming regulations in 2004, Malta has moved from local lotteries and seaside casinos to being one of the world’s leading hubs for licensed iGaming. Today gambling is a mainstream, regulated form of entertainment and a significant economic sector, balanced by a national responsible-gambling infrastructure.

A history rooted in the lottery

Organised gambling in Malta traces back to the Maltese National Lottery, created in 1934. It quickly became popular at home and abroad, with draws broadcast live on radio and winners declared publicly. The National Lottery’s portfolio - draws like Super 5, Lotto and the Grand Lottery, plus scratchcards - remains a fixture of everyday Maltese life.

Land-based casino culture arrived next. Dragonara Casino opened on 15 July 1964, housed in the 19th-century Dragonara Palace once associated with the Scicluna family, making it Malta’s first and oldest casino. Decades later, in 2006, The Casino at Portomaso opened in the Portomaso complex in St Julian’s; it went on to become one of Europe’s notable poker venues, home to what is widely regarded as the largest poker room on the island. Alongside them, Casino Malta and the Oracle Casino round out the four licensed land-based casinos operating in the country.

From land-based to iGaming pioneer

Malta amended its gambling laws in 2001 to account for remote communications, and in 2004 became the first EU member state to adopt detailed regulations for online gaming. That head start, combined with EU membership and a business-friendly licensing regime, drew a large cluster of operators and suppliers to the islands. Malta now licenses hundreds of online gaming companies, and iGaming has become a significant contributor to the national economy and employment.

Who runs the games today

Since 5 July 2022, the National Lottery has been operated by National Lottery plc, a subsidiary of the IZI Group, under a ten-year exclusive MGA licence - taking over from the previous operator, Maltco Lotteries. On the casino side, the four land-based venues - Dragonara Casino, The Casino at Portomaso, Casino Malta and the Oracle Casino - coexist with a vast online sector regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority.

Attitudes and responsible gambling

Gambling in Malta is broadly accepted as a normal leisure activity, but it sits alongside a serious public-health awareness of gambling harm. The Responsible Gaming Foundation, established in 2014, runs the National Gambling Helpline (freephone 1777) offering confidential support to gamblers and their families, and MGA-licensed operators are required to provide player-protection tools such as deposit limits and self-exclusion.

Gambling should be entertainment, never a way to make money. You must be 18 or over. If gambling is causing you harm, call the Responsible Gaming Foundation on 1777.

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