For whom the bell tolls
The industry has been sending out messages to the regulator and the government in general, that there is a lack of human resources and that it is not feasible any longer to rely on foreign imported human resources.
Apart from the story we carry on our front page, that cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex has announced that it is moving headquarters from the “Blockchain Island” Malta to Liechtenstein, this has not been a good week for the Maltese economy.
The Times reported earlier that an online gaming company has announced that it will close its Malta studio and move to another EU member state, making some 30 of its employees redundant.
Yggdrasil, which provides gaming content for online casinos, the report said, blamed a lack of human resources in Malta for its decision to consolidate its studio operation in Poland.
It will retain a much-reduced presence of less than 20 people in Malta, where the company, which describes itself as “one of the industry’s most respected and acclaimed suppliers” has been operating since 2013.
A spokesman for the gaming supplier told the paper “the regretful decision was based on the fact that Malta has not been an optimal location for a fullyfledged end-to-end studio as the company has been relying on relocating talent instead of recruiting local talent”.
Just a few weeks before that, two Malta-based online betting companies announced nearly 100 redundancies as part of major restructuring.
The Stars Group, part of the TSG Interactive Gaming Europe Ltd, with offices in St Julian’s since 2017, informed about 80 of its local staff it will not need their services any longer.
The move came after a sharp fall in the company’s turnover.
Days later another gaming company, Multilotto, also based in St Julian’s, made some 15 employees – half its workforce – redundant in an unexpected move.
Latest figures show that the gaming industry presence is currently worth some €1.2 billion or 12 per cent of GDP.
One must understand that, compared to other sectors of the economy, it is very simple for an online gaming company to move out: all it takes is to close the laptops and head to the airport.
Industry sources told the paper that while the online gaming sector remains a strong contributor to the Maltese economy, there are signs of “fatigue” and “lack of attractiveness” in the current economic state of the island.
“The industry has been sending out messages to the regulator and the government in general, that there is a lack of human resources and that it is not feasible any longer to rely on foreign imported human resources.”
Representatives from the gaming industry have also repeatedly warned that Malta’s high cost of living, particularly regarding rent rates, has affected competitiveness.
One must not forget the dollar correspondence problem, and the Satabank and Pilatus banks' forced closures. All this has been exacerbated by the irreparable bad reputation that Malta 'enjoys'.
These exorbitant rental fees together with this massive third world immigration is killing the goose that has being laying the golden egg.