After several years in the doldrums, the amusement machine operating business in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta looks likely to be resurrected.
Credit for the initiative goes to a change of government in Malta and to a nucleus of operators that have managed to stay in business but have constantly lobbied for improvements in operating conditions.
A combination of taxation and licensing problems have contributed to the rapid contraction of the business in Malta over the past five years and the last of the substantial FEC-style arcades closed just over two years ago. But now the island’s Lotteries and Gaming Authority, which administers both gambling and amusement machines in Malta, has opened up talks with industry representatives.
Long-term operator on the island, Ivan Camilleri, who has a family tradition of running amusements in Malta, said: “We are looking forward to regulation which encourages business in this sector; the present administration and the Authority have had several meetings with us. We are encouraged by the reception so far.”
Camilleri of Allied Games, these days a single-site operator, is keen to see his family amusements arcades re-open on the island and encouraged a number of operators to carry a unified message.
They have put forward a plan that calls for operator licences after probity tests from the LGA, all games should be registered and any upgrades or changes logged. The only costs to the operator should be the one-time cost of the licence and a small initial charge for a machine’s registration. Machines should be transferable between locations and redemption should be permitted.
“The industry here wants to be regulated, but not to the degree where it is impossible to operate, as it became after 2010. We want to see Malta ending up with FECs of a similar type to those presently in Middle East locations. Amusement machines should be available in a country which relies on tourism. When the business stopped, revenues were lost to other areas, including online amusements. Since the closure of key family locations it has been a far cry from the principle of ‘a family playing together.‘”
Allied Games is both an operator and a distributor in Malta, with over 50 years of experience in the industry. The company has operations in parts of Africa, as well as in Malta. “Right now we are sitting on three prime locations on the Maltese islands where we want to open FECs as well as distribute games to smaller venues. I know there are a handful of dedicated and professional operators in Malta who have the same aspirations. We all hope that the present talks will lead our small country back to providing both residents and visiting families with a choice of indoor fun thorough investment in this industry.”
