Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1246698
Jobsplus 212/2020 - Reference Number BCAHR 010/2020 POLICY RESEARCH OFFICERS CAREER OPPORTUNITY All applications should be submitted by noon on Wednesday, 20th May 2020 For more information you may visit our website; bca.org.mt/careers Island Insurance Brokers reconfirms CII status FROM PAGE 1 Last month, leading consultancy firm Copenhagen Economics pub- lished a study showing that more and more players in Sweden are choosing to carry out gambling using compa- nies operating on the black market. The study indicated that every fourth Swedish Krona gambled goes to an unlicensed company in-stead of one with a Swedish license. The report, commissioned by the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, showed that only 72% to 78% of casino players in Sweden are channelled to licensed operators. The situation in Sweden is such that a number of leading international oper- ators, including the CEOs of Betsson, William Hill and NetEnt have signed a letter lambasting Swedish Public Ad- ministra-tion Minister Ardalan Shek- arabi for failing to protect the govern- ment's own gaming licensing system from black market gambling. The companies claim that regula- tions introduced in Sweden in 2019 are in fact benefitting those compa- nies which choose to operate on the black market by discouraging players to use licensed and legal operators which have to abide by the added re- strictions of the new rules. They also ac-cuse Shekarabi of ig- noring the problem and not being open to discussions on how develop a well-functioning gambling market. Moreover, the companies are also critical of new emergency gaming re- strictions introduced by Shekarabi in April, ostensibly to target increased risks in the gaming sector. "Such a letter is quite unprecedent- ed, and I don't recall such a strong- ly-worded statement signed by very big, publicly listed companies having been issued before. Its signatories are giants in the industry and are also based in Malta," he said. "They are pointing out that the Swedish government is doing some- thing that is contrary to the spir-it of the country's regulations, which the companies want to adhere to. Essen- tially, the government in Sweden is allowing the black market to operate." Amplifying on the direct relevance of this situation to Malta, Bradamante said that companies based locally had invested in a license to operate in Sweden, but were now having to con- tend with a move of Swedish custom- ers away from their services. "The companies based in Malta, which have gone through the expense and trouble of obtaining a Swedish license and having gaming solutions which are regulated in Sweden, are now being essen-tially penalised be- cause the Swedish government has tightened regulations in such a way that is not appealing to players. This is causing Swedish players to ultimately seek better products and more free- dom on the unlicensed black market," he said. "It's almost impossible to quantify how many players are being chan- nelled to the black market, but while the Swedish government declares that 90% to 95% of gambling is regulated, the reality is that it's only in the region of 70% or so." He added that the latest emergen- cy restrictions in Sweden are at odds with the more relaxed ap-proach the government applied when it came to the COVID-19 situation, whereby no lockdown was put in place. Bradamante's comments also come after the MGA this week signed a da- ta-sharing agreement with the Swed- ish Football Association with the aim of helping to combat match fixing - a feature of ille-gal gambling - by al- lowing the transfer of data in relation to investigations of manipulation in sports competitions. 14.05.2020 3 NEWS Shift of Swedish players to unregulated gambling could affect companies in Malta Enrico Bradamante ISLAND Insurance Brokers (IIB) has just had its corporate chartered status reconfirmed by the Chartered Insurance Institute, the international professional body for insur- ance and financial planning. "Being re-confirmed with this status benefits our busi- ness, our staff but most im- portantly our clients because it reflects our commitment to constantly give them enough reasons to trust us," Lawrence Pavia, Manging Director of Is- land Insurance Brokers, said. e prestigious status is awarded annually to firms who publicly commit to a set of aligned ethics and values, to providing knowledgeable advice backed up by qualifi- cations and continued profes- sional development, and who through their daily operations, would have kept seeking good customer outcomes. Pavia reiterated how Island Insurance Brokers' 30-year operation has been built on nurturing long-standing and valued relationships based on trust and that today, the firm is known as one of the top reputable professional in- surance brokers that provides peace of mind, stability and conducts business in an effi- cient, fair, ethical and honest approach. He also referred to the achievement of this CII status at this particular time, point- ing out that never as much as today do companies need to build consumer trust while aligning their operations to sound ethics and values. "e award of this important status happens at a time when as insurance operators, we are witnessing a very important transition in our sector where what seemed impossible or difficult pre-Covid19, became doable in a matter of days such as shifting to paperless opera- tions, remote working, more use of technology and cashless transactions," Pavia said.