Today a White Paper proposing major reforms to Malta’s Gaming Legal Framework is been published by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), which is open for public consultation for around five weeks. Both Silvio Schembri, Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services and Joseph Cuschier, Executive Chairman of the MGA presented the White Paper today morning. Gaming laws […]

Today a White Paper proposing major reforms to Malta’s Gaming Legal Framework is been published by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), which is open for public consultation for around five weeks. Both Silvio Schembri, Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services and Joseph Cuschier, Executive Chairman of the MGA presented the White Paper today morning.

Gaming laws are to be repealed and replaced by a single primary Act entitled the Gaming Act, together with subsidiary legislation covering horizontally the main areas of regulation as well as a series of directives and guidelines issued by the Malta Gaming Authority as the single regulator of this sector as per the MGA.

Silvio Schembri, Parliamentary Secretary for Digital Economy said today that a number of public consultations, and research initiatives had been conducted before the new law was drafted. “The new legal framework will create an environment where consumer protection, compliance and best practices are at heart,” “The government, he added, knew it had to act fast to enable Malta to be at the forefront of the global gaming economy.”

Main legal changes:
• – Replacing the current multi-licence system with a system in which there will be two different types of licences – a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) licence and a Business-to-Business (B2B) licence – covering different types of activities across multiple distribution channels;
• – Moving towards an objective-based rather than excessively prescriptive regulatory approach, to allow for innovation whilst ensuring that the regulatory objectives are attained;
• – Broadening the regulatory scope to increase MGA oversight and allow for intervention where necessary and in a proportionate manner;
• – Widening the MGA’s powers under the compliance and enforcement functions to better achieve the regulatory objectives, in line with concurrent developments on anti-money laundering and funding of terrorism obligations;
• – Segmenting the Key Official role into various key functions within a licensed activity, requiring approval, for direct scrutiny and targeted supervisory controls, thereby raising the bar for persons of responsibility within a gaming operation;
• – Strengthening the player protection framework by formalising the mediatory role of the MGA’s Player Support Unit, enshrining segregation of player funds at law and moving towards a unified self-exclusion database across both remote and land-based delivery channels;
• I- ntroducing new and more effective processes for criminal and administrative justice, including the allocation of appeals from decisions of the Authority to the Administrative Review Tribunal and the introduction of a distinction between administrative and criminal offences;
• I- ntroducing the concept of administration to protect an operation in distress and, if necessary, to assist the winding down of an operation, thereby protecting jobs and player funds;
• – Moving towards automated reporting, facilitating adherence to regulatory obligations and strengthening the Authority’s oversight;
• – Bolstering the Authority’s role in the fight against manipulation of sports competitions by introducing new obligations on operators to monitor sports betting and report suspicious bets, in line with the efforts being made by the National Anti-Corruption Task Force in which the Authority also participates actively;
• – Streamlining taxation into one flow with two main layers; and
• – Exempting B2B licensees from gaming tax, thus increasing Malta’s competitiveness as a hub for these services providers.

Queries and requests for clarifications with respect to the content of the document, as well as contributions/feedback from interested parties may be sent by email to legaloverhaul.mga@mga.org.mt
Closing date for feedback on the aforementioned consultation is Wednesday, 23rd August, 2017.

The global leader in sports betting, SBTech, has launched www.winmasters.com.cy, becoming the first sportsbook platform supplier to enter the Cypriot market, just six months after the agreement was signed between SBTech and Winmasters. Winmasters becomes one of the eighth operators to be awarded a Class B license by the Cypriot National Betting Authority (NBA). The […]

The global leader in sports betting, SBTech, has launched www.winmasters.com.cy, becoming the first sportsbook platform supplier to enter the Cypriot market, just six months after the agreement was signed between SBTech and Winmasters.

Winmasters becomes one of the eighth operators to be awarded a Class B license by the Cypriot National Betting Authority (NBA).
The sportsbook platform will be in both Greek and English languages, with all major European payment methods available to Cypriot players.

Christos Protopapas, Sales and Operations Director at Winmaster, said: “I’m delighted that our ongoing relationship with SBTech continues to bear fruit. The power and flexibility of the company’s sportsbook and back office systems, as well as the quality of its real-time reporting, is delivering solid growth for us across the board, and the speed with which our Cyprus launch has been achieved gives me great confidence that we will attain all our goals in this exciting new market.”

SBTech CEO Richard Carter commented: “The successful on-schedule launch of our complete tier-1 solution for Winmasters’ Cyprus operation is thanks to the hard work of all our teams and the strength of our partnership with this uniquely dynamic operator. I’m particularly pleased that once again, SBTech is the first sports betting provider in a newly regulated market, a trend that we intend to maintain.”

The Swedish Gaming operator, Betsson in a one-page press release that appeared on its corporate website on Friday, has announced that it has written to the European Commission outlining what it calls “the continued breach by the Dutch authorities of EU law”. The action follows the five-year delay from Holland to pass laws to bring […]

The Swedish Gaming operator, Betsson in a one-page press release that appeared on its corporate website on Friday, has announced that it has written to the European Commission outlining what it calls “the continued breach by the Dutch authorities of EU law”.

The action follows the five-year delay from Holland to pass laws to bring its gambling regulatory framework in line with EU requirements and follows new stricter rules regarding unlicensed operators serving Dutch players that came into effect in June.

Ulrik Bengtsson, CEO and President of Betsson AB, said on the press release: “Betsson view the ongoing confusion in the Dutch market as unacceptable. We have therefore submitted an official complaint to the European Commission. The current law in the Netherlands is not in line with EU law and we have therefore asked the Commission to re-open the infringement proceedings that were initiated against the Netherlands in 2006”

Betsson also decried the Dutch gaming regulators Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) for overstepping their bounds: “A compliant legal framework would remove the confusion and instability that the actions of the Dutch gaming authority, KSA, are creating for Dutch consumers at present. In addition, Betsson trusts the Commission to ensure that the KSA immediately refrains from continued enforcement of a law, which has already been the subject of infringement proceedings by the Commission.”

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has unveiled on Wednesday its new enforcement strategy, for gambling operators who violate the terms of their licensing agreements to face higher penalties. The plans include to reduce the possibility for the operator to renew his licence. The strategy came into force since Wednesday, following a three-month consultation with industry […]

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has unveiled on Wednesday its new enforcement strategy, for gambling operators who violate the terms of their licensing agreements to face higher penalties. The plans include to reduce the possibility for the operator to renew his licence.

The strategy came into force since Wednesday, following a three-month consultation with industry stakeholders entitled “Changes to our enforcement strategy: putting the consumer first”. The UKGC urged all operators active in the UK market to familiarise themselves with the updated policy.

Also, the UKGC intends to place all regulatory tools, including reviews to operator licences and personal management licences, on a level playing field, removing the current bias in favor of the settlement.

The Chief executive of the UKGC, Sarah Harrison, said: “We will use the full range of enforcement powers to ensure operators put customers first and raise standards.” “The industry can be assured that we will use our powers in a targeted way, and consumers and the public can be assured we will take robust and effective action when gambling companies don’t meet their obligations.”

Harrison added: “This enforcement policy will set tougher sanctions for operators who repeatedly or systemically fail their customers.” “We want to work with operators who want to raise standards; we will take tough action against those who fail customers. Operators who persistently fail customers will face a hostile response from the regulator.”

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC) have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in order to keep integrity of eSports and online betting. With this collaboration, the two parties will work together to prevent the illegal manipulation of esports events and competitions. Established in 2015, ESIC is a non […]

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC) have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in order to keep integrity of eSports and online betting. With this collaboration, the two parties will work together to prevent the illegal manipulation of esports events and competitions.

Established in 2015, ESIC is a non profit organisation whose mission is to deal with issues of common interest facing the esports community, including disrepute, cheating, doping, DDoS attacks, match-fixing and the use of online attacks such as denial-of-service. MGA and licensed operators in Malta will provide information on suspicious betting patterns to help the ESIC with its own investigations into such activities.

Ian Smith, ESIC Integrity Commissioner, said: “We are delighted that the Malta Gaming Authority has agreed to work with us in making esports a safer wagering environment. The MGA is a very highly respected regulator of sports betting and it has been a pleasure developing this information sharing mechanism with them. Adding the experience and vital information of our other partners in the information exchange to the Authority’s intelligence database and vice versa will undoubtedly strengthen all our efforts considerably.”

The MGA’s chairman, Joseph Cuschieri, said: “I am very pleased that we signed this MoU with ESIC. Keeping abuse and crime out of sports betting is high on our agenda and the MGA will always be at the forefront to collaborate in such matters both locally and internationally”

The UK gov announced that the findings of the fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT) long-awaited review will be delayed until the autumn, following a rift between the Treasury and the government department responsible for the gambling industry over regulation of the controversial machines. Tory MP Tracey Crouch, the Conservative minister confirmed the decision during Thursday House […]

The UK gov announced that the findings of the fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT) long-awaited review will be delayed until the autumn, following a rift between the Treasury and the government department responsible for the gambling industry over regulation of the controversial machines.

Tory MP Tracey Crouch, the Conservative minister confirmed the decision during Thursday House of Commons questions and informed the parliament that she doesn’t expect “any further announcement until October at the earliest” as to the results of that review. She also commented on Friday via Twitter “Definitely not in long grass. Process is really important on this issue.”

The findings of the review are still unpredictable as the MPs in the Democratic Unionist party, which holds the balance of power in parliament, pushing for a reduction FOBTs’ current maximum stake of £100 to just £2. Also, it is considering if the the maximum of FOBTs per betting shop wll be reduced to 4 as well as new restrictions on gambling firms advertising on television.

The Association of British Bookmakers said: “Any decisions affecting an industry that serves six million customers and employs over 52,000 people, more than the rest of the gambling industry combined, should be taken on the basis of the facts and evidence.” “We remain committed to working with the government and regulators on our responsible gambling agenda.”

The gambling regulator may investigate Ladbrokes over an incident after betting addicts’ details found in bin bag outside one of the bookmaker’s betting shops in Scotland. The sensitive data included names, addresses, photographs of customers who signed up for the self-exclusion scheme Moses which allows problem gamblers to voluntarily ban themselves from placing bets. The […]

The gambling regulator may investigate Ladbrokes over an incident after betting addicts’ details found in bin bag outside one of the bookmaker’s betting shops in Scotland.

The sensitive data included names, addresses, photographs of customers who signed up for the self-exclusion scheme Moses which allows problem gamblers to voluntarily ban themselves from placing bets. The data also included information about why they have chosen to exclude themselves from placing bets.

A statement on the Moses website reads: “Your personal details are kept confidential and only shared with the participating bookmakers their group companies’ and the central team administrators.”

Tim Miller, UK Gambling Commission Executive Director said: “Customers trust that their personal data will be collected carefully and then protected properly,” “We expect gambling operators to adhere to all data protection laws or regulations, which are enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).” “In an instance where personal data has been breached, we would expect operators to do whatever they can to mitigate any harm caused.”

In response, a Ladbrokes spokesperson said: “We are taking this extremely seriously and undertaking a full investigation.”

Marc Etches, chief executive of charity GambleAware said: “We really hope this situation does not put anyone off using self-exclusion, as research we published in March found that 83% of those who have used it found the scheme to be effective, although we would always recommend professional treatment alongside such measures.” “Self-exclusion is often a last resort for those already suffering from a gambling addiction and it’s important we identify those who are at risk as early as possible and prevent problems developing.”

Melco International Development and Hard Rock International (HRI) after signing officially for the upcoming €500 million casino resort in Cyprus “Europe’s largest integrated casino resort”, they have decided to abandon their involvement in the application for a casino resort in Catalunya, Spain. On Friday, eleconomista.es a Spanish media outlet reported that the partners had withdrawn […]

Melco International Development and Hard Rock International (HRI) after signing officially for the upcoming €500 million casino resort in Cyprus “Europe’s largest integrated casino resort”, they have decided to abandon their involvement in the application for a casino resort in Catalunya, Spain.

On Friday, eleconomista.es a Spanish media outlet reported that the partners had withdrawn their interest to be the operator of the Center for Recreation and Tourism (CRT) project in Catalunya. The decision comes right before the June 30 deadline to present the final offers in order to obtain licences. They both said they are concentrating on separate ventures away from Spain leaving Genting and Grup Peralada as the only other interested group.

On Monday the two companies signed the contract to be the operators of the upcoming casino resort in Cyprus. The ceremony took place in Nicosia and the Commerce and Tourism Minister Lakkotrypis said “Our goal is the improvement of incoming tourism, increasing arrivals, and average spending per capita, and also to see this contribute to the ongoing efforts to address the problem of seasonality in the Cypriot tourism industry,” “Our other strategic objective was the creation of new jobs and additional tax revenue, supporting sectors that will be associated with the casino, and attracting further foreign investment.”

The licence will be valid for 30 years and the two companies will hold the monopoly over casino gambling in Cyprus for the first 15 years. The mammoth casino should be built by the first half of 2020 as per Andy Choy, the President of Melco’s Resorts and Entertainment Division.

On Thursday the Russian internet regulator Roskomnadzor have blocked Google.ru as the search engine had a page with a link associated with Russian bookies Fonbet, that is involved in a tax dispute with the Russian government. The serch engine was blocked for around three hours in the afternoon with a number of internet providers restricting […]

On Thursday the Russian internet regulator Roskomnadzor have blocked Google.ru as the search engine had a page with a link associated with Russian bookies Fonbet, that is involved in a tax dispute with the Russian government.

The serch engine was blocked for around three hours in the afternoon with a number of internet providers restricting users’ access. As soon as the referring link was withdrawn, Google.ru was again accessible for the Russian users.

Head of internet regulator Roskomnadzor, Alexander Zharov said that Google had been promptly removed from the agency’s list of blacklisted sites as soon as the banned link had been removed.

Russian government had blacklisted Google.ru in the past as a prohibited website when courts ruled that the company had violated the law by pre-installing certain applications on mobile devices. Last year, Members of the Russian State Duma approved the 3rd reading of a bill nicknamed the “Google Tax Law”, requiring foreign IT companies to pay value added tax (VAT) on the sale of online content.

On Wednesday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta officially signed the Finance Bill 2017 that will impose a tax of 35% of gross profit on all gambling activities in the country. A week ago, the President rejected the previous version of the bill because he did not agree on the proposed tax rate as he proposed a […]

On Wednesday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta officially signed the Finance Bill 2017 that will impose a tax of 35% of gross profit on all gambling activities in the country.

A week ago, the President rejected the previous version of the bill because he did not agree on the proposed tax rate as he proposed a 50% rate. The high rate he proposed was to help to discourage gambling amongst the youth of Kenya as he said.

Τhe new tax rate of 35% will be uniform on betting, gaming, lotteries and prize competitions, which is well above the rates operators had been paying. The rates for Kenyan Bookmakers were at 7.5%, the tax for casino gambling was at 12%, 5% for lotteries and 15% for competitions.

In Kenya gambling takes place on-line. Financial services allow users to place bets and get winnings on their phone without the need of a bank account. 7 million Kenyans have already registered for betting services.

Even if all that Brexit business was in 2016, Brexit negotiations began on Monday with Theresa May and her team seeking to negotiate Britain’s exit from the EU. The worst-case scenario is the fragmentation of the UK and European markets as a result the companies with the most reliant on European revenues will be affected […]

Even if all that Brexit business was in 2016, Brexit negotiations began on Monday with Theresa May and her team seeking to negotiate Britain’s exit from the EU. The worst-case scenario is the fragmentation of the UK and European markets as a result the companies with the most reliant on European revenues will be affected the most.

Only the strongest companies will recover quickly such as Paddy Power Betfair, Ladbrokes and Playtech and it would take longer time for the weaker companies to recover. As per the ones that are looking to add to positions in strong UK bookmakers, they shall consider and wait until the completion of the talks.

On the occasion of the talks, Paddy Power bookies erected a 120-ft Theresa May statue on the White Cliffs of Dover which can be seen from Normandy, depicting the Prime Minister making a ‘V’ sign salute with her fingers to simulate “a hard Brexit” wearing a union jack dress.

A Paddy Power spokesman said: “I’m really proud of this statue, if only because it’s the first time that I can legitimately claim to have a huge erection.

“We tried to make the installation look as life-like as possible to Theresa May – which is why it’s two-dimensional and largely wooden.

“During construction, it was both strong and stable, but soon went weak and wobbly when the winds changed – about as stable as a partnership with the DUP.”

The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) has been dealt a blow following the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruling that the principle of freedom to provide services does not apply between the territory and the UK and that the provision of services by Gibraltar operators to customers in the UK is “a situation confined […]

The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) has been dealt a blow following the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruling that the principle of freedom to provide services does not apply between the territory and the UK and that the provision of services by Gibraltar operators to customers in the UK is “a situation confined in all respects within a single member state,” under European Union law.

Operators are now obliged to pay 15% on all bets placed with them, but the tax remains at a low rate compate to other EU countries, such as Spain, which collects 25% for all bets.

GBGA has claimed that POC tax is illegal under the European law because of the violation οf Article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which concerns the right to free trade across borders.

As per the European Court of Justice, Gibraltar belongs to the European territory as the UK is responsible for, and that the EU law is applicable to that territory.

Judgement said that, “Although Gibraltar does not form part of the UK,” the judgment states that “Gibraltar is a European territory for whose external relations a Member State, namely the UK, is responsible, so that EU law is applicable to that territory.”

“There is no factor that could justify the conclusion that relations between Gibraltar and the UK may be regarded as akin to those existing between two Member States.” as per the court.