Actual brick and mortar casinos in Malta are quite scarce, with there only being five of them across the island nation. Malta is a small country in the Mediterranean Sea just off the coast of Sicily and comprised of a few islands.

Over recent years it has become known as Europe’s Gambling Hub due to the amount of online casino licences that it hands out annually. This is mostly due to its favourable taxation regime. Malta was originally a part of the British Empire, but gained its independence in 1964 along with the rest of the commonwealth countries. It is now a member of the European Union. The first form of betting that happened in Malta was in Ancient times and was called Cippitatu, which involved the throwing of a four sided Teetotum. Prizes for this were usually marbles and beads.

From there European settlers brought the idea of gaming houses to the small country as well as the concept of Lotto. Although this was popular in Malta, it was not until 1922 that the Lotto Act was enacted and an official Lottery set up. Casinos were licensed in the 1960’s by the Malta Lottery and Gaming Board, who have since then gone on to expend themselves to online casinos in the early 2000’s. Today Malta licences about 80 online casinos.

Online Casino Licensing

Malta has about 80 online casinos licensed to it, and has become known as the Europe’s Gambling Hub, not to every member of the European Union’s delight. One reason for this is the Malta has no money laundering laws, and thus online casinos could be major organised crime fronts for all anyone knows. Malta has a number of well known online casinos, but also a number of totally unknown potentially dodgy ones too. Online casino operators are mostly drawn to Maltese licensing due to their relaxed taxation laws, and their obvious interest in being in it for the money. Also, anyone with the necessary funds will be approved for a licence. This obviously upsets other members of the European Union like Germany who are very strict and do not license online casinos at all due to organised crime.

Dragonara Casino

The Dragonara Casino is the oldest casino still operating in Malta today. Set in a coastal town resort of St Julian, it is visited annually by a large number of tourists. The actual hotel building was opened in the nineteenth century, and was originally a palace. IN 1964 a casino was opened at the palace, attracting both curious locals as well as international guests. Today it is still open both in brick and mortar form and online, and offers a large selection of games. The brick and mortar casino has more than three hundred slot and video poker machines and a number of favourite table games including Blackjack, Roulette, mobile poker USA and Punto Banco. Regular tournaments are open to both locals and visitors. The hotel offers 340 recently renovated suites and rooms, all of which are luxurious. Several restaurants and bars are on the premises offering a number of cuisines and specialising in Seafood.

Oracle Casino and Dolman Hotel

The Oracle Casino and Dolman Hotel is a five star resort located in St Pauls Bay which experiences a rush of tourists during summer season. The casino is styled after Las Vegas, with a number of modern slot machines including some with progressive jackpots. VIP rooms are available for high rollers. Other attractions to the resort include restaurants, bars, a swimming pool and a Spa.