Malta Gaming Authority lowers minimum RTP percentage on online slots to 85%
The Malta Gaming Authority has lowered the minimum Return to Player percentage, also known by the acronym RTP, on online slot machines to 85%, following the amendment to Article 22 of the Player Protection Directive at N1 Interactive Ltd. Casinos.
more changes
After cross-jurisdictional analysis and consultation with several operators holding the MGA license, the Malta Gaming Authority recognized the “importance of research and evidence-based decision-making”, as indicated in the “Policy Paper on Amending the Return to Player Minimum Percentage”. This has led to the lower RTP percentage of online titles being lowered to 85%.
Article 22 of the Directive now states that “a B2C licensee offering online games that use a repeatedly generated random selection to determine winning combinations for players, according to the way the games are designed by it, must pay, on average, a prize amounting to 85% or more in cash or stake, or any other greater percentage as may be stipulated by a condition of the licence.”
A closed consultation (and the resulting announcement) analyzed the feasibility of reducing the minimum percentage of RTP to 85%, the same percentage applied to physical games. The consultation involved several B2B and B2C operators as well as industry stakeholders.
positive feedback
As presented in the report, MGA's proposal to lower RTP was well received by all who participated in the consultation, indicating that different fees would apply across different games and jurisdictions to ensure an optimized gaming experience for customers. Furthermore, it would allow operators to run their business profitably.
In general, their opinion is that lowering the minimum RTP percentage to 85% should only apply to specific products. As market requirements will direct the industry to maintain an “appropriate standard RTP”, the rate would remain higher than the proposed threshold.
According to the operators, lowering the minimum RTP percentage would not only have an impact on their competitive positions, it would also provide flexibility. If operators, depending on market conditions and levels of competitiveness, grow free to apply higher RTPs, they would have significantly enhanced opportunities.
