New gaming legislation tabled in Parliament

30 licences cancelled or suspended in the past year

Parliamentary Secretary for the Digital Economy Silvio Schembri last night tabled a motion in Parliament for the first reading of a new gaming bill which will repeal all existing legislation on the matter, replacing it with a singular, primary act.

This act will eventually be accompanied by subsidiary legislation covering the main thrusts of gaming regulation together with a set of technical directives and guidelines which are currently under consultation.

“The bill marks a major step in streamlining and encompassing the governance of all gaming services offered in and from Malta and across all channels under the competence of the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). The government wants to ensure that the gaming industry continues to be run responsibly, fairly and free from criminal activity, so that the Maltese jurisdiction provides a safe and well regulated environment where the industry can also develop and innovate,” Schembri said at a press conference yesterday.

He said that the bill ensures that the authority has the necessary resources and powers to regulate effectively and protect consumers.

Recently, media reports have read that a number of Italian online betting operators gave up their Maltese licences in the wake of investigations into suspected connections to organised crime. Questions were raised about this issue.

Schembri spoke about the strength of Malta’s gaming regulator. He said that the Maltese regulator is recognised internationally for its capabilities, and it has taken decisions on certain licenses.

He said that if one were to ask him whether next week they would find a problem or not, it would be presumptuous of him to answer. “This is an industry where, like any other, there could be operators with good and bad intentions. What is important is for there to be a regulator with the necessary tools to act.”

He said the authority conducts intelligence gathering through international sources.

The chairman of the MGA said that the authority works with local enforcement. “Just because it is not mentioned in the media does not mean it doesn’t happen.”

Recently reports read that two companies had their licences revoked, and that both companies were allegedly found to be using Malta operations to launder money coming through illegal activity in Italy. Regarding the aforementioned situation, the MGA chairman said that it was the Italian anti-mafia unit – a special unit that works independently from other law enforcement agencies – that conducted those investigations in Italy.

Whenever there was the slightest suspicion, the authority was always “risk averse,” he said, and took the necessary measures which needed to be taken.

He said that in these particular cases, the authority acted in the correct manner. He spoke of the need for more international collaboration on organised crime, which he says does not occur often. He said that more collaboration between international law enforcement agencies would lead to better tracing of illegalities. He said that organised crime is very sophisticated, utilising mechanisms where people front for others, which increases complexity. “And so when information ends up on your lap, you take immediate action.”

He said that this past year around 30 licences were suspended or cancelled, not all related to crime, but for various reasons.

If the authority feels, at any time, that a company has stepped out of line, it can intervene, he assured.

Recently, this newsroom reported that the MGA was reviewing risk profiles of business models used by Italian licensees following arrests in Italy. The MGA chairman said there was a focus on Italy due to what was being reported in the Italian media. “This does not mean we aren’t doing the same thing with operators coming from other jurisdictions.”

He said that surveillance is the authority’s job, adding that it is continuous work. He said that risk management today is sophisticated when compared to foreign regulators. He said that before being given a licence, the authority uses international agencies to provide in-depth intelligence on individuals as part of its due diligence process.

Once one becomes a licensee, he said, the authority always has the power to suspend a licence at any point in time, and that the company’s risk profile is scrutinised on an ongoing basis. The greater the risk, the greater the scrutiny, he said.