Malta and Gambling

The house always wins.

Malta has a rather contradictory attitude to gambling.  Perhaps that's appropriate, as this is a contrary sort of a country in many ways:  the last country in Europe to legalize divorce, but which allows prostitutes to go about their business (in certain areas) without much police interference.  A conservative, Catholic nation which turns a blind eye to the strip clubs and all night parties in Paceville.

In the same vein, Malta is home to four large casinos which attract a large number of clientele willing to splash the cash.  But while an 18 year old non-national is free to come in a burn all his euros on the slot machines and roulette tables, a Maltese person must be over 25 to gain admittance.  Malta has reinvented itself as one of Europe's premium internet gaming locations, but these website businesses are discouraged from accepting Maltese customers by certain governmental tax disincentives.


Instead the Maltese people must go to their local 'lottery agent' to play Super 5 or some other national lottery equivalent, which actually offers worse odds than most of the online organisations they are unable to enlist with.  Keeps the money in the local economy I guess, so there's certainly a rationale behind it, but it's a funny kind of a set-up all the same.

So if you fancy a few hands of blackjack or risking it all on the spin of the roulette wheel, bring your foreign ID with you...




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