The Malta Gaming Authority (‘MGA’) has published a White Paper which proposes the introduction of new gaming laws to replace the current legislation. The main changes proposed by the White Paper include the following:
- Elimination of the multi licence system to be replaced by two types of gaming licenses:
(a) Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Licence;
(b) Business-to-Business (B2B) Licence;
which shall shall constitute any one or more of the four established game types as follows:
i. Type 1 gaming services, which shall mean games of chance played against the house, the outcome of which is determined by a random generator, and shall include casino type games, including roulette, blackjack, baccarat, poker played against the house, lotteries, secondary lotteries and virtual sports games; and/or
ii. Type 2 gaming services, which shall mean games of chance played against the house, the outcome of which is not generated randomly, but is determined by the result of an event or competition extraneous to a game of chance, and whereby the operator manages his or her own risk by managing the odds offered to the player; and/or
iii. Type 3 gaming services, which shall mean games of chance not played against the house and wherein the operator is not exposed to gaming risk, but generates revenue by taking a commission or other charge based on the stakes or the prize, and shall include player versus player games such as poker, bingo, betting exchange, and other commission based games; and or
iv. Type 4 gaming services, which shall refer to controlled skill games as per regulation 8 of these Regulations.
- Widening of the MGA’s powers with the aim of having better compliance within the industry to achieve regulatory objectives, in order to be consistent with the current developments in the area of anti-money laundering and the funding of terrorism obligations;
- 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;
- Moving towards automated reporting, facilitating adherence to regulatory obligations and strengthening the MGA’s oversight;
- Increase in the licensing period from 5 to 10 years;
- Recognising certain activities that were not licensable so as to become licensable activities;
- New licensing and annual fees.