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28.05.2020 2 NEWS IN August 2019, the Malta Gaming Authority announced the establish- ment of a Sports Integrity Unit. THE Unit's role consists of the gath- ering of intelligence and information relating to suspicious betting and serves as liaison with the national platform that is being set up, local and foreign regulatory authorities, law enforcement agencies, betting monitoring systems, sporting bod- ies and gaming operators in order to investigate irregular and suspicious betting activity. It is the authority's intention to im- plement a set of Suspicious Betting Reporting Requirements, which will oblige B2C licensees offering betting on sporting events to inform the Au- thority of any instance of suspicious betting. Prior to bringing into force these requirements, the authority is reach- ing out to stakeholders for feedback on the proposed mechanisms for due consideration. In consolidating perspectives of interested parties through public consultation, the au- thority is better placed to implement effective and efficient regulatory processes around suspicious betting in the sports betting sector. In addition, the MGA said it is al- so interested in initiating a dialogue with B2B licensees to consider what their contribution towards sports integrity can look like in terms of detection and exchange of informa- tion with either B2C licensees, or the authority itself. Furthermore, the document underlines other areas of interest which the Sports Integrity Unit shall be looking into in the near future. Queries, requests for clarification, as well as contributions or feedback from interested parties on the "Con- sultation Paper on the Suspicious Betting Reporting Requirements & Other Sports Integrity Matters", are to be sent to sportsintegrity.mga@ mga.org.mt Closing date for any related sub- missions is Tuesday, 17 July 2020. MGA consultation paper on sports integrity measures Farsons reports profit before tax of €12.3 million SIMONDS Farsons Cisk plc has an- nounced its financial results for year end- ed January 2020 at a time of a very dynam- ic and increasingly demanding market environment. Turnover improved by 4% over last year having now reached €103 million. Turnover increases came from the Group's beer and beverages sectors as well as strong growth from the franchised food retailing sector. Despite this turnover growth, the Far- sons Group has seen a decline in its pre-taxation profit level from €14 mil- lion last year to €12.3 million this year. Profit before taxation fell short of last year's profit due to compression of the gross margin, an increase in the required impairment provision relating to trade debtor receivable balances along with increased payroll costs which were par- ticularly propelled by the tight labour market conditions. The Group's profit after taxation was further reduced as it was deemed not appropriate to increase further the rec- ognized deferred tax asset. In facing up to the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Directors will continue to give utmost priority to all its various stakeholders. Farsons has entered into this crisis from a position of strength following several years of considerable capital in- vestment and record profits. Addition- ally, since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Board has implemented measures di- rected at protecting and preserving the commercial well-being of the Farsons Group by taking a number of cost-cut- ting and other initiatives. Earnings before interest, tax, depre- ciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to €22.7 million, a marginal decrease of 2% compared to last year. The Group's net borrowings increased by €1 million and the gearing ratio in- creased from 23.4% to 25.9%. Total eq- uity of the Group increased from €108 million to more than €116 million, re- flecting the profit generated net of the dividends distributed earlier during the year. With respect to the financial year un- der review, an interim dividend of €1 million that is €0.0333 per ordinary share had been approved at the Board Meeting held on 25th September 2019 and distributed to shareholders on 16th October 2019. In view of the impact on the business of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncer- tainty caused by the inadequate visibility concerning the timing of any ameliora- tion of the current crisis and any recov- ery therefrom, the Board of Directors has not deemed it appropriate at this time to recommend the payment of a fi- nal dividend to the forthcoming Annual General Meeting, which had been provi- sionally scheduled to be held on 25 June 2020 but is likely to be postponed to a later date due to the current situation. Board will not propose final dividend EDWARD Scicluna has warned of the potential pitfalls of a proposed EU rescue package, insisting that fi- nancing options being floated could harm Malta. e Finance Minister sounded the warning in parliament on Wednes- day afternoon when asked about the rescue package being discussed at EU level as part of the COVID-19 recovery. "is is not just about the percent- age of EU funds that will be distrib- uted as grants or on loan but we must beware the fruit that can turn out to be a prickly pear," Scicluna said. He urged MPs to look beyond the size of the funding package. "We have to know who will eventu- ally pay for the debt and this is where we have to uphold the national in- terest because there are dangers for Malta in some of the proposals made to fund the package," he added. Scicluna said one of the proposals was the introduction of a climate tax on airline and ship travel, something that will bite countries like Malta. "Such a tax will hit southern Eu- ropean member states bad… this is why I urge MPs not to simply look at the size of the package but what it could entail," he cautioned. e European Commission pro- posal for €750 billion recovery pack- age includes the possibility of creat- ing new revenue streams for the EU budget, including a digital tax, a car- bon border tax and the possibility of a "large enterprises" tax. ese revenue streams will provide the Brussels executive with their own resources. In its technical doc- uments, the Commission said these resources could theoretically cover the repayment and interest costs of the entire amount of money bor- rowed for the recovery plan. However, it will be up to national governments to decide on the mat- ter. Scicluna warns: 'Beware the fruit that can be a prickly pear' EU COVID-19 RECOVERY PACKAGE

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