The Casino and the Lottery House in Malta Living

Malta Living is a free browser life sim set in real Malta, and like a real evening in St Julian's, it has a casino you can wander into. If you want a casino game for fun, with no real money involved, this is it. There's also a small Lottery House in Paola. Both are made up, both use game euros only, and nothing you win can ever be cashed out. There are no real-world prizes.

Here's what you can play at each, the limits, and the tools that tell you when to stop.

Free roulette and blackjack, with game euros

The Casino sits on Spinola Bay in St Julian's, with red carpet, chandeliers and green tables, and it's always open. Outside the game, Spinola Bay is the little bay where, as Visit Malta puts it, fishermen still keep their traditional boats just below the restaurants.

The gaming floor has three games:

• Roulette. A European wheel with one zero. Bet on red, black, odd, even, or a single number.
• Blackjack. Hit or stand. The dealer stands on 17, and a blackjack pays two and a half times your stake.
• Slots. Three reels, with the prize table a tap away. Three 7s pays the most.

You bet by tapping a chip, never by typing an amount: €1, €5, €10, €25, €50 or €100, and only what's in your wallet. For a quick go, there's one spin of the slots for €5, or a hand of blackjack dealt for you for €10.

Not every visit has to be a bet. A cocktail on the terrace is €6, and there's a snooker table for a friendly frame. Permit holders and locals can deal a table as croupier or take a bar shift, once a day.

The VIP room, and a risky card

Behind the gold rope, the VIP room opens once your net worth reaches €1,000,000, the figure the Bank shows you. Its tables take chips from €100 to €10,000. Go in for the first time and you're a VIP, with a badge and champagne at the VIP bar for €150.

Counting cards at blackjack is a risky card: you bet €750 as you sit, a win puts you €500 up (€1,250 back on that €750), and getting caught means the cell. The game never shows your chances. Our guide to Paceville nightlife and risky moves explains how getting caught works.

A lottery game in Paola

The Lottery House is a green kiosk on Paola square, always open, with the latest numbers on the board. The real Paola is a town in the Southern Harbour area, and its main square, Antoine de Paule Square, is home to the Basilica of Christ the King, which Wikipedia describes as the largest church in the Maltese Islands.

• A slip is €2. Pick 5 different numbers from 1 to 25, or tap Quick pick. Up to ten slips a draw, never the same numbers twice.
• The draw is at 21:00, Malta time. Slips close at 20:55, and nothing is known before 21:00. Then every slip is settled, with one notice.
• A scratch card is €3, and you find out straight away.

Selling "lucky numbers" to strangers in the square is a risky card, and like any risky move it can backfire: a warning, a fine or the cell.

One count, and a nudge to take a break

The Casino and the Lottery House share one count of your day, shown as "Today: spent · won" wherever you can bet. When you're behind, the games say so in red, for example "You're down €40 tonight · 12 rounds".

• The first time you're €200, €500 or €1,000 down in a day, a card asks "Take a break?" and shows what you've spent and won.
• Before a bet that would leave you with less than €50, it tells you what you'd have left, once a day.

You can tap Keep playing, but they're there so a bad night never sneaks up on you. Every betting screen says the same thing: 18+, just for fun, and the house always has an edge.

More to do than bet

Treat this play money casino like a night out in the game, not a way to get rich in it. For steadier money there are jobs and careers, and for fun with friends there's the Games app. To see everything else, read our Malta life simulator guide, or play Malta Living free in your browser.

Questions people ask

Can you win real money at the Casino in Malta Living?

No. Every bet uses game euros, game money can't be cashed out, and there are no real-world prizes. It's a casino game for fun only.

How much can you bet at the Casino in Malta Living?

On the gaming floor a bet is one chip, from €1 to €100. In the VIP room, which opens at a net worth of €1,000,000, the chips go from €100 to €10,000.

What time is the Lottery House draw?

The numbers are drawn every evening at 21:00, Malta time, and slips for that draw close at 20:55. A slip costs €2 and you can buy up to ten for each draw.

Is the Casino in Malta Living for adults only?

Yes. Signing up asks you to confirm you're 18 or older, and every screen where you can bet carries an 18+ line.