‘A home of gaming excellence’ – GamingMalta inaugurates new offices

GamingMalta on Friday cut the ribbon on its plush new offices, based out of a building in Zejtun, also containing integral business bodies like FinanceMalta, Tech.mt and Malta Business Registry.

At the event, addressed by GamingMalta COO Ivan Filletti and Economy Minister Silvio Schembri, and attended by CEO of the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) Karl Brincat, the leaders discussed the organisation's evolving scope and its accomplishments so far.

Minister Schembri also announced the upcoming launch of the 'iGaming Council,' which will be a brand new group under the leadership of GamingMalta, working to build closer relationships between the Government and the industry.

Discussing the new office, Mr Filletti explained it reflects the the organisation's representation of the iGaming, game development, and esports sectors, the serving of which, is the organisation's "privilege and duty."

It will aim to become the new "home of gaming excellence," where people "feel comfortable to share joy and tears, discuss their challenges, and reach out for a helping hand."

This mission was accentuated during the pandemic, as the pandemic pushed them to increase their efforts to be the first port of call for prominent gaming companies.

Indeed, providing video testimonial at the inauguration, a number of stakeholders in the industry, thanked GamingMalta for its support, including Ariel Reem, CEO of Genesis Global.

Similarly, David Hawkins, CEO of video game developer Exient celebrated that his company enjoys a "great relationship," with GamingMalta, adding "long may that continue."

Omar Bitar, senior HR business partner at Flutter said the organisation is "incredibly helpful" in building bridges and tailoring solutions to the needs of the sector.

The esports and game development industries were of particular focus at the event, and both Mr Filletti and Minister Schembri indicated that the Government and its supportive bodies would be aiming to further prioritise these sectors.

"Esports is a low hanging fruit for Malta, and we've already launched the country into the world" in this area, said Mr Filletti, with the Minister adding that although iGaming has "traditionally" been seen in Malta as the key vertical from the three, the current strategy also embraces video game development and esports.

He also reiterated his 2019 plan to see Malta's video game sector increase in size significantly, to constitute a full one per cent of GDP within a decade.