Online Bingo Company’s Join Malta’s Growing Gambling Community
Written by Tom   
Friday, 07 September 2007
Malta is strategically located within the European Union and has the sought after White List standing in the UK. Being on the White List allows the gambling companies within its licensing jurisdiction to advertise in the UK under the new gambling laws which became effective on September 1st.

Malta, the Isle of Man and Alderney are the licensing jurisdictions which are compliant with the UK rules and regulations, while other sites, like Kahnawake and Antigua are still awaiting approval. Some jurisdictions, like Costa Rica, didn’t bother to apply for inclusion on the White List.

Because of the importance of advertising in the UK, gambling companies have to be located in an acceptable jurisdiction or they are barred from the activity which can cost them significant market shares. With this goal in mind, InterCasino and InterPoker have obtained licensing in Malta so they are not closed out of the UK market while waiting for Antigua to obtain approval.  Locating their servers in Malta gives a gaming company better access to the European market and additionally to the UK.

Since the UK and the European market are so important for gaming companies, especially since they have been forced out of the U.S. market, look for more companies to re-locate in coming months, especially if jurisdictions like Antigua and Kahnawake fail to obtain approval and white listing.  Online bingo operators must be in white listed jurisdictions in order to offer online bingo in the UK. Since online bingo is a very popular game and very sizeable market in the UK, many online bingo sites will have to find a way to comply or simply be shut-out of the market.