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APPOINTMENT
Malta Business Review
Mark Anthony
Camilleri
nominated as a
member in the
Global Reporting
Initiative’s
Stakeholder
Council
Dr Mark Anthony
Camilleri shall be
representing Europe
and Asia’s CIS region.
University of Malta's resident academic,
Dr Mark Anthony Camilleri has recently
been appointed as a member in the Global
Reporting Initiative’s Stakeholder Council,
where he will be representing the European
civil society organisations.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is
an international, independent standards
organisation that helps businesses and
governments (worldwide) understand
and communicate their impact on critical
sustainability issues, including; climate
change, labour rights, governance and
social well-being. The GRI's reporting
framework has standardised and quantified
the environmental, social and governance
disclosures in the corporate reporting of large
undertakings.
The Stakeholder Council membership is
diverse, and is drawn from all United Nationsdefined
regions: Africa, Asia Pacific/Oceania,
Latin America/Caribbean, North America/
Europe/CIS and West Asia. Its members
represent core constituencies in GRI’s
network: Business, Civil Society Organisations,
Investment Institutions, Labour and
Mediating Institutions. MBR
All rights reserved - Copyright 2018
EDITOR’S
Note
Mark Anthony Camilleri Ph.D. (Edinburgh), is the
author of 'Travel Marketing, Tourism Economics
and the Airline Product: An Introduction to
Theory and Practice'. Springer, Milan, Italy. http://
www.springer.com/us/book/9783319498485;
Author of 'Corporate Sustainability, Social
Responsibility and Environmental Management:
An Introduction to Theory and Practice with Case
Studies'. Springer, Heidelberg, Germany. http://
www.springer.com/us/book/9783319468488;
Editor-in-Chief of 'CSR 2.0 and the New Era of
Corporate Citizenship'. IGI Global, Hershey, USA.
ISBN13: 9781522518426 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-
5225-1842-6 http://www.igi-global.com/book/csrnew-era-corporate-citizenship/166426
(Indexed in
SCOPUS); He is also resident Academic Lecturer
Department of Corporate Communication Faculty
of Media & Knowledge Sciences
University of Malta
NEW VAT RULES FOR
THE GAMING SECTOR
New VAT Guidelines became effective as of
1 January 2018. The Guidelines list gaming
services which are to be considered as ‘exempt
without credit’ supplies in terms of Item 9 of the
Fifth Schedule to the VAT Act. As from 1 January
2018, gaming services which are not included in
this list are considered as ‘taxable supplies’ and
no longer ‘exempt without credit’ supplies.
The list of ‘exempt without credit gaming services’
has been narrowed down to the following:
• “The provision of any facilities for the placing
of bets and wagers, including the services
of book-makers, betting exchanges and any
equivalent facilities. The placing of bets and
wagers refers to gambling on the outcome
of an event, which outcome is unknown at
the time of the placing of the bet or wager.
The term ‘event’ includes but is not limited
to: a sporting event, both real life or virtual;
a competition; a lottery; the performance of
an index; and a natural phenomenon. For
the purposes of this guideline, ‘placing of
bets and wagers’ shall exclude gambling on
the outcome of (a) casino-type table games
such as blackjack, poker and roulette: and
(b) any games of chance, the outcome of
which is determined by random generator.
• The granting of the right to participate in
lotto or lottery, including Grand Lottery,
Super 5, scratch cards, keno and any other
lottery-type games;
• The granting of the right to participate in a
bingo game;
• The provision to players of devices or
equivalent for the playing of casino-type
games of chance, the outcome of which
is determined by random generator,
including tables for the playing of roulette,
blackjack, baccarat, poker when played
against the house, and slot machines. The
terms “devices or equipment” refers to
games tables, machines and other similar
object. For the avoidance of doubt, “devices
or equipment” excludes “amusement
machines” as defined in Chapter 438 of
the Laws of Malta, and “remote gaming
equipment” as defined in S.L. 438.04; and
• Supplies which are strictly required, related
and essential to, and which form part of an
underlying gambling or betting transaction
falling within paragraphs (i) – (iv) above, as
shall from time to time be determined by
the MGA.”
This essentially means that gambling operators
which are currently registered under article 12 and
which as from 1 January 2018 offer services other
than services listed above, have an obligation to
change their VAT registration to an article 10 VAT
registration. Gambling companies with an article
10 VAT registration would have a right to claim
input VAT. Gambling companies providing both
services which in Malta are considered as taxable
and exempt (as per list above) would be able to
claim input VAT on the basis of partial attribution.
• In all other cases, the consideration shall
be total stakes/bets placed by the players
(including bets placed using bonus credits)
less the winnings and other amounts paid
out to the players in connection with the
bet (including bonus credit comprised
within the bets placed). The consideration
shall be deemed to be inclusive of VAT.
These guidelines together with the
announcement of VAT Grouping in the
Budget 2018 have an impact on how Malta
based gaming businesses are structured.
We, therefore, suggest that you contact us
at your convenience to review your current
structure and assess what changes if any
might be necessary or desirable. MBR
Credit: WH Partners Malta
For more information contact gaming or tax teams at:
gaming@whpartners.eu or tax@whpartners.eu.
www.maltabusinessreview.net
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