The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) referred to the increased criticism towards its poor online gambling monitoring policies in number of media articles. The MGA shared that it strongly objected to the articles, saying the online news portals were inaccurate in terms of the facts presented and provided a “misleading portrayal” of the regulatory body and its operational principles.
Earlier in May, Valery Atanasov, a former employee of the regulator criticised the Malta Gaming Authority for the way it operates, and several online media released articles on what the MGA describes as “unfounded allegations”.
At present times, the Malta Gaming Authority has a pending case with Atanasov, who was fired from his position at the regulator more than two years ago. He has been figting his dismissal in local courts and case is being heard in front of the Industrial Tribunal, after independent disciplinary board has already issued a decision.
At the time he worked at the Malta gambling regulator, Mr. Atanasov was responsible for “sealing” hardware. The latter allows online gambling operators based in Malta to use local servers in order to provide their gaming solutions to customers. The “sealing” process have been found out of date, but the so-called tagging process was kept.
The Malta Gaming Authority revealed that it uses diversified procedures, including data extractions, technical audits carried out by third parties, spot checks, traffic monitoring of the traffic generated by gambling operators’ websites and data centres, etc. According to the local gambling regulatory authority, these methods and procedures are absolutely sufficient in order to provide it with the opportunity to be efficient in carrying out its supervisory functions.
Still, technical audits, traffic monitoring and license checks are not the only activities carried out by the MGA. The Authority is also entitled with the powers to audit the information security procedures of the gambling companies that operate on the territory of the country. As revealed by the regulator itself, the diversified procedures which are included in the Authority’s powers enable the regulator with the chance to protect its licensees in a better way than by simply using the physical “sealing” procedures.
The Malta Gaming Authority also highlighted the fact that online gambling operators’ servers could also be located outside the country, which comes in correspondence with the EU treaty.
What is more, the MGA also explained that as a gambling regulator it is required to act in the public interest only, so it carries out all actions and procedures in terms of objectively overseeing gambling operators in the country and keeps the gambling environment fair, transparent and customer-friendly. In addition, the Authority explained that it has all its processes under a constant review in order to make sure that the watchdog’s regulatory processes and activities are corresponding to the most recent industry developments.
Over the past few years, a large number of international gambling software suppliers and gaming companies have preferred the country as a location for their operations, making Malta one of the most-desired destinations for online gambling operators thanks to its favourable legislation, including lower licensing fees and tax rates.
- Author
Daniel Williams
