Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/858250
43 Events maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 AUGUST 2017 THE mobile gaming company, Leo- Vegas.com, has announced that it will be the main sponsor of the 2017 Malta Pride. The 2017 Malta Pride week will take place from the 2nd till the 10th of September, with the iconic pride parade and street concert held on Saturday, 9th September in Valletta. The chosen theme for the 2017 Mal- ta Pride is 'Celebrate Love, Life and Diversity' and the programme of events will celebrate Malta as being the most LGBTIQ friendly country in Europe (according to ILGA Rain- bow Index) and the newly enacted Marriage Equality Bill. Further- more, a number of semi-nars and workshops will promote further awareness about LGBTIQ health re- lated issues. This year Malta Pride will also un- veil an 82 foot Giant Rainbow Flag, of which LeoVegas sponsored the orange stripe. LeoVegas runs the award win- ning mobile casino, live casino and sportsbook and has offices in Malta, Italy and Sweden. Roderick Spiteri Schillig, Head of Communications at LeoVegas, said, "We are proud to be sponsoring the largest event of its kind in Mal-ta. The main goal of this collaboration is to show LeoVegas' commit-ment in embracing diversity and equality in our workforce. Our vision is to create the greatest gaming experience and be the num- ber one mobile gaming. Today we're over 300 employees at the Mal-ta of- fice and I believe that one reason for our success has been the diversity of our workforce – be it race, ethnic- ity, gender, age, re-ligion, ability, or sexual orientation." Malta Pride Co-ordinator Rus- sell Sammut (arc), welcomed the partner-ship with one of the lead- ing iGaming companies in Malta. "I'm de-lighted that employers such as LeoVegas have managed to cre- ate what is an exemplary inclusive workplace that truly celebrates equality and diversity. Through their support, this year, we will man- age to raise more awareness and also enhance the overall celebrations at Malta Pride." The work environment at LeoVe- gas is one that inspires and moti- vates people to be creative and en- trepreneurial in their approach. Check LeoVegas' careers portal on www.LeoVegasCareers.com and like the Le-oVegas Careers Facebook page (fb.com/LeoVegasCareers) to stay up-to-date with all the latest vacancies. LeoVegas sponsors the 2017 Malta Pride HSBC Malta Foundation breathes new life into the historical Torri l-Abjad MALTA'S history enthusi- asts will have another gem to explore as the restoration and rehabilition works on Torri l-Abjad (White Tow- er) in l-Ahrax tal-Mellieħa are now underway. HSBC Malta Foundation and Din l-Art Ħelwa held a ceremony on the site, in the presence of Mellieħa Local Council Mayor John Buttigieg, to mark the start of a three year project. The tower was originally built in 1658 and saw redevelop- ment during the Knights' period circa 1716. The iconic Torri l-Abjad is being rehabilitated as part of a multi-phased project by Din l-Art Ħelwa to restore the entire complex, which includes a protective fortifi- cation consisting of an artil- lery battery and ditch. The project also encompasses the completion of dormito- ries and other facilities, as well as a visitor centre and didactic facilities. HSBC Malta Foundation is financing the restoration, conservation and rehabili- tation of the Tower as well as its outer fortification. Upon completion, the re- stored Tower is expected to provide educational facili- ties for the maximisation of the historical, cultural and environmental value of the site and its environs for stu- dents of all levels. HSBC Malta CEO An- drew Beane said: "Torri l- Abjad represents another magnificent historical, ar- chitectural, and cultural gem in Malta's treasured offerings. HSBC Malta Foundation's support to this project aligns with our goals of working for the en- vironment, education and heritage." "Din l-Art Ħelwa is very grateful to HSBC Malta Foundation for believing in this project and sharing our vision to create a centre where visitors may discover the historical site, but also learn about nature in the ar- ea, which is so pristine. We are fitting it out to accom- modate groups overnight, thereby filling the gap in providing this much-need- ed type of facility," said Din l-Art Ħelwa Executive Pres- ident Maria Grazia Cassar. You can finally get it regularised! Have you been trying to sell your home and have been stuck for years due to plan- ning irregularities? Is it located within the development boundaries? If so, the Plan- ning Authority can help you fix this issue. The PA is now giving you the chance to regularise your property, to put this be- hind you and move on. It has published new regulations which will provide you, as a property owner, with a 'one-time opportunity'. You will now be in a better position to sell or acquire a bank loan thanks to the PA's regularisation scheme. The scheme will allow you to regularise existing developments which before could not be sanctioned. These need to be located entirely within the development boundaries. Keep in mind that the PA will only con- sider regularising whatever appears in our aerial photos of 2016 – nothing after. Also the building or structure cannot be creating an injury to amenity. Finally, the use of the building must be according to its current policies. If one of these conditions cannot be satisfied, then this scheme cannot help you out. All this comes at a cost. Every application is subject to a fee. It will be calculated on the total and combined roofed over area of each floor of the property being regularised. You will also need to pay an administrative fee of €50. Does this scheme apply to you? Hurry up then - the registration will expire in Au- gust 2018. Should the scheme be extended a 25% extra charge on the fee shall be applied. Had you benefitted from a Category B con- cession (CTB)? The scheme will also legalise any irregular developments – within the de- velopment boundaries – which in past years was granted a CTB. These applications will automatically deduct the fee you had paid when you applied for the concession in pre- vious years. What about sites on which there is an en- forcement notice still in force? The PA safe- guards the interests of all third parties who had submitted a formal complaint for which a notice had been issued. Its is committing itself to inform these same third parties of the submitted regularisation application. They will be offered the opportunity that within a 15 day period, they are to notify the Authority whether to be considered as reg- istered interested parties. Registered inter- ested parties automatically hold the right to appeal the Planning Commission's decision before the Tribunal. When the PA issues a permit, it will still retain the right to impose any conditions which it may deem necessary. Conditions may include carrying out specific works within a time-frame of two years. If you fail to abide by these conditions, your applica- tion shall be stopped. Need more information? The legal no- tice together with the schedule of fees may be downloaded from our website www.pa.org.mt. ONE of the world's leading gam- bling operators, Kindred Group (previously Unibet Group), has commissioned research aimed at providing insight into player pro- files (including VIP customers), the player's journey with Kindred, and the efficacy of responsible gambling practices currently used by Kindred. The project will be led by Dr Mi- chael Auer (Director at Neccton) and Dr Mark Griffiths (Distin- guished Professor at Nottingham Trent University). Over the last five years, Dr Auer and Professor Griffiths have published numerous studies evaluating the effectiveness of responsible gambling tools used by a number of different European online gambling companies. "Our previous research has shown that companies who employ responsible gambling tools can help their clientele play on their products in a more controlled way by setting time and money spend- ing limits and providing personal- ised feedback to players in a timely fashion based on their actual gam- bling behaviour", says Dr Michael Auer. "Kindred is committed to player protection and harm minimisation for our customers and this new research project will help provide insight into how our customers can gamble more responsibly and demonstrates our ongoing com- mitment to social responsibility and a sustainable business", states Maris Bonello, Integrity Analytics Manager at Kindred Group. "This is an exciting project for us and continues our recent innova- tive research analysing real cus- tomer data and evaluating the ex- tent to which responsible gambling tools like personalised feedback, limit-setting and pop-up messag- ing actually work. This new research project will not only help Kindred but the find- ings will help share best practice with other online gambling opera- tors around the world", says Pro- fessor Mark Griffiths. Kindred commissions research into responsible gambling practices HSBC Malta CEO Andrew Beane and Din l-Art elwa Executive President Maria Grazia Cassar signing the support agreement at Torri l-Abjad