On Tuesday 8th May, the Maltese Parliament approved the third and final reading of the new Gaming Act. This Act provides an overhaul of the current gaming regulation and licensing process in Malta and strengthens the Malta Gaming Authority’s supervisory role and enforcement functions. This new framework will also segment the role of a Key Official within a licensed entity into various key functions for direct scrutiny and targeted supervision controls, and shall strengthen the player protection framework.
The legislation is currently undergoing the Technical Regulation Information System process (TRIS) in line with European Union Directive 2015/1535, whereby the EU Commission and Member States may issue their opinions thereon. In the absence of issues emerging from this process, the Act shall come into force on 1 July 2018 for remote gaming operators and, following a transitory period, on 1 January 2019 for land-based operators.