Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1008890
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 JULY 2018 TIA RELJ IC THE number of individuals who requested to be barred from land-based casinos in Malta rose by 9% in the last year, a report by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has revealed. The number of self-exclu- sion requests rose from 1,277 in 2016 to 1,393 in 2017. Over half of these were for a period of six months, while the rest were for the period of a year. Only one individual chose to be barred indefinitely. Gaming operators licensed under the MGA are obliged to offer a self-barring facility to customers, as stipulated in the Self-Barring Directive of 2011. This applies for operators of both land-based and on- line casinos, and is a legal requirement that needs to be provided by all licencees. "The self-barring pro- gramme is one of the inter- ventions aimed to minimise negative impacts of gam- bling, and it plays an impor- tant role in the recovery pro- cess of affected individuals," the report read. Contrary to popular per- ception that a rise in gam- bling in Malta could have been brought about due to the increase in foreigners, the figures reveal that a vast majority – 76% – of self- barred individuals were Mal- tese. But a number of non-Mal- tese players also made use of the option to bar themselves from land-based outlets such as casinos, gaming parlours, and bingo halls. Italians made up 4% of foreigners making use of this facility, while 2% were Syrian, 2% Bulgarian, 2% Romanian and 2% Somali. The majority of self-barred players over the past three years have consistently been male – 71% in 2017. In its 2017 report, the Gam- ing Authority said that the new gaming framework will be "strengthening player protection" in a number of ways: it will be formalising the mediatory role of the MGA's Player Support Unit, enshrining segregation of player funds at law, and mov- ing towards a unified self-ex- clusion database across both remote and land-based deliv- ery channels. Players opting to exclude themselves seem to be get- ting younger, too. While individuals aged between 35-45 were the most likely to request self-barring since 2015, a considerable growth in self-barring was regis- tered for players between the 18-24 and 25-34 age groups between 2016 and 2017 – amounting to 22% and 27% respectively. But while the report states that this increase "might re- flect the increased effective- ness of outreach gambling awareness programmes," a founding member of a Cari- tas Foundation for the vic- tims of usury, Fr John Avel- lino, is less hopeful. "Unfortunately, a large number of new casinos have opened up lately, which have made it easier for people to fall into the habit. Even though they are legal… they are a temptation." he said, adding that an increase in requests for self-barring are a natural consequence to the fact that more casinos are cropping up, and more peo- ple are gambling. "Only a small fraction of people would admit to hav- ing a problem and seek help, because it is not easy to do so," he said, explaining that gamblers seek their services "regularly". In fact, he said that al- though individuals resort to usury for a number of rea- sons, gambling problems are the "prime reason" they would seek help from the foundation, Avellino said. Online gaming opera- tors are obliged to offer self-exclusion facilities in the same manner as land-based ones. In 2017, the total number of self-exclusion requests for online gaming websites li- censed by the MGA account- ed to just below 790,000 – an increase of 5.3% from the previous year. NEWS Nearly 1,400 gamblers bar themselves from casinos property was slashed to €2,025,000, incurring an ad- ditional tax charge of €14,426. In the second valuation, Ar- chitect Paul Micallef offered a more lenient appraisal of the land, pointing out that Australia Hall was scheduled and had to be restored under strict supervision of herit- age authorities. "The mar- ket price of land in the same area is in the region of €1,000 to €1,200 per square metre. However, since the land can- not be fully developed and the existing premises was sched- uled, in my opinion the value of the land is €400 per square metre taken as freehold." Micallef placed the market value at just over €2.4 mil- lion, but also deducted the capitalised ground rent (20 times €20,964), to get a value of €2,025,000. Consequently, a revised tax demand was is- sued for €87,096.98, which included an additional tax of €14,426. Despite the gener- ous revaluation downwards, the parties still objected to the figure. In a January 2015 letter from A.H. Development's lawyer, Prof. Ian Refalo, objected to the tax and additional tax being claimed, saying the additional chargeable value was incorrect and that the valuation ignored the legal encumbrances of the land – an annual ground rent of €20,964.35 – and the "state of affairs" when the transfer was made. He said A.H. Development had a right to purchase the land under a promise of sale agreement which was the subject of litigation. "This naturally limits the value which the property could fetch on the market and the valuation should have taken into account these legal en- cumbrances," Refalo argued. There was no other consid- eration for the property other than that stated in the deed, said the lawyer, arguing that the additional tax had been wrongly raised "as there was no element of wrongdoing." The case continues in Octo- ber. The majority of self-barred players over the past three years have consistently been male – 71% in 2017