Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/987221
GAMING G4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MAY 2018 CHANGE. FAIL. LEAD. Welcome Change. Embrace Failure. Take the Lead. #whycatena catenamedia.com/careers New Gaming Act approved by Maltese Parliament EARLIER this month, the Maltese Parliament approved the third and final reading of the new Gaming Act, which will elevate the jurisdic- tional profile of Malta from a regulatory perspective by strengthening the MGA's su- pervisory role, specifically the compliance and enforcement functions to better achieve the regulatory objectives, in line with concurrent develop- ments relating to anti-money laundering and combating the funding of terrorism. This new framework will also broaden the regulatory scope to increase the MGA's oversight and to allow, in a proportionate manner, inter- vention where necessary. The new Act will also segment the role of a Key Official within a licensed entity into various key functions for direct scru- tiny and targeted supervision controls, and shall strengthen the player protection frame- work by formalising the role of the MGA's Player Support Unit as a mediator between aggrieved players and opera- tors. The new Act also envis- ages new and more effective processes for criminal and administrative justice. Other important areas of focus in- clude consumer protection standards, responsible gaming measures, reporting of suspi- cious sports betting transac- tions in the fight against the manipulation of sports com- petitions and objective-orien- tated standards to encourage innovation and development. The legislation is currently undergoing the Technical Regulation Information Sys- tem process (TRIS) in line with European Union Direc- tive 2015/1535, whereby the EU Commission and Member States may issue their opin- ions thereon. In the absence of issues emerging from this process, it shall come into force on 1 July 2018 for re- mote gaming operators and, following a transitory period, on 1 January 2019 for land- based operators. The same considerations apply to the subsidiary legis- lation and directives which are envisaged to be issued un- der the remit of the new Act, which are also currently un- dergoing the TRIS process. In order to facilitate the transition to the new legis- lative framework, the MGA has embarked on a process of liaison with existing licen- sees, and outreach shall be increased in due course both with operators as well as with other interested stakeholders. This will include guidelines on the application and inter- pretation of the new laws and policy. The Parliamentary Secre- tary for Financial Services, Silvio Schembri, thanked MGA for moving the regula- tory agenda for gaming ser- vices forward, as well as for identifying areas for further and continuous improve- ment. "The MGA will periodically review the regulatory per- formance of the sector and the framework itself and will advise Government on the attainment of its objectives mainly focusing on consumer protection and integrity," he said. MGA's Chief Executive Of- ficer, Heathcliff Farrugia, said the legislation was a very important milestone for the MGA. "The new law establishes very robust compliance and enforcement powers and structures, and lays the nec- essary foundation to continue to strengthen player protec- tion," he said. Silvio Schembri, Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services