Despite an increase in the number of licenses issued by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) in 2020, new license applications and total revenue fell last year for the island’s regulator. Although Covid-19 will be a factor, it raises questions about Malta’s long-term future as an iGaming hub.

While some companies see the advantages in moving operations away from Malta, other firms continue to invest and open new office spaces on the island. We talked True Motto, Business Development Executive in Habanero, Ori Zilbershtein, Chief Business Development Officer at Hyperion Tech, and Anne Muscat Scerri, Head of Human Resources at iSoftBet, to find out their thoughts on the future of iGaming in Malta.

Q: Several industry observers have often suggested that the bubble burst for iGaming in Malta sooner rather than later. Do you believe this is the case?

Ori Zilbershtein (OZ): We are certainly seeing fewer benefits when we are based on the island than in previous years. Rising living costs are making it less attractive for people to relocate, and the general lack of available talent means companies will either have to pay the odds to secure experienced individuals or consider moving operations. elsewhere.

Maltese firms were somewhat reluctant to introduce remote teams before the pandemic hit, but are now increasingly embracing the hybrid office model and allowing employees to work from various parts of the world. The previous 12 months have shown that the majority of employees can be trusted to work from home and still collaborate with colleagues to maintain a sufficient product pipeline. It raises the question of why a gambling company still needs a large presence in a small country like Malta. Certainly from a development perspective, building a team working remotely is much more cost effective.

True Motto (VM): No, I do not believe that this will be the case, we established ourselves in Malta in 2020, with our MGA in 2021, and our first office. We entered Malta with the belief that we are here for a good reason – we are looking to invest heavily in our operations here, and it is our long-term goal to stay and grow on the island.

We do not believe that the bubble will burst soon – certainly other places are coming to prominence, but Malta has its importance with good reason. Looking ahead, easy to see why. Suppliers will need a Maltese hub for a long time as a base of operations, as this is the center of the gaming industry.

Anne Muscat Scerri (AMS): We do not see that this is the case, on the contrary. We opened an office at the North Business Center in Sliema in 2019 and our operations and talent pool have grown rapidly since then, with our success attracting some major hires including our heads of -Marketing (CMO), Product (CPO), and Technology (CTO)) to join us and commit to our vision: creating amazing gaming experiences. Our mission is to build quality gaming products (games, aggregation, and engagement tools) that inspire, innovate, and entertain by always putting the player, our partners, and our people in the core of everything we do.

We firmly believe that Malta has a strong future as an international jurisdiction, not only for the iGaming industry, but also for other innovative and disruptive technology sectors such as blockchain, crypto, AI, and data-driven startups.

Q: With a lack of apparent product development skills, along with more firms embracing a hybrid office model, iGaming companies will seek to reduce their presence on the island to save money. costs?

AMS: The pandemic has had a profound effect on global employment and has forced many companies to re-evaluate how they work. Fortunately, our sector has been resilient, adaptable, and successful under these new conditions and technological changes. The last 18 months have also brought about existing skills gaps, making it more difficult for companies to find suitable candidates and to increase these prospects. Despite this, we are growing faster than ever and have no plans to downsize. The key is to recognize that we live in an era of digital transformation and that offering flexibility to our workers is essential. So much so that we have recently allowed all of our employees to choose when they want to work from home or office according to their preferences.

As an agile company, we stick to our values ​​based on respect, passion and curiosity with an emphasis on our people, their education, and their well-being. The ongoing and ongoing changes have helped us develop an even closer bond, fostering strong team bonds and relying more than ever on collaboration.

To deliver this in our business and industry we need to improve our talent pool – a focus on creativity and flexibility is essential for our technology teams for example. To drive innovation, teams must be inspired and allowed to apply their creativity every day. As such, we encourage our teams to build on a ‘safe’ technology base and to gradually step out of their comfort zones by moving away from what is known as the “recipe for success” in the industry. The beauty of technology is that it opens so many doors to discovery and our main purpose as a team is to constantly open up new ground.

VM: They need to fix internet connectivity first! Nothing beats face-to-face meetings and being such a small space, it’s the perfect place for networking. Of course, it is true that some areas such as customer support and game development lack skills, and we are seeing them being outsourced to other locations by some companies. However, when it comes to business facing trade, there are many more resources in Malta for this, as nothing can beat a list of quality contacts, friends in the industry, and the ability to be known to everyone on the island. This also makes it easy for us to stay in Malta because we have a global team that can provide us with many resources elsewhere, while focusing on introducing our casino friends here to the wonderful world of Habanero.

OZ: That’s a real possibility. We are likely to see reduced operations for sales and trade departments that have a presence only on the island. The reality is that a large number of people have embraced the work from the house of culture and want to continue with a similar installation moving forward. When you think about the lack of skills, there is no doubt that the use of talent from other parts of the world makes sense and can now be achieved more easily.

Office spaces can still be used for key meetings and training sessions, but there just isn’t a need to be there for the whole week. I am sure that many iGaming companies are considering cheaper places in Malta to make new and smaller office spaces.

Q: Tell us about your company’s operations in Malta – are you committed to having a presence at this iconic center, or do you see the value in conducting more operations elsewhere?

VM: We are just getting started! We are very committed to growing our presence there – and we don’t see it changing all the time as for us, it makes excellent business sense to be in the heart of Europe’s online casino capital. Of course, we don’t have all our eggs in one basket, we have other places where the Habanero team operates – but as far as developing business, trade-watching activities, and flying the flag with our MGA license , we are very much in it long and happy to be here!

OZ: We are committed to working with companies in Malta and providing a cost-effective solution to the continuing shortage of skills they face. Those who embrace a long-term future of remote work and a hybrid office model are in a strong position to grow faster than those who simply commit to employing individuals from only one geographic location. At Hyperion Tech, we take great pride in building successful teams for many clients. Companies have the advantage of exploiting a large pool of technical talent to take their operations to a new height.

AMS: We are fully committed to the center of Malta and have seen success in the last three years despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. We are a key part of the gaming community and industry here with our teams fully integrated into the Maltese lifestyle that offers so many benefits. Our flexible approach has seen productivity increase and allowed our teams to see how much we appreciate their contribution and commitment not only to SoftBet but also to Malta as a major gaming jurisdiction and a place to stay in the medium term. in the long run.