The middle of the week saw the Malta Gaming Authority’s (MGA) decision to extend the consultation period of its White Paper to September 4th 2017. As previously reported by Casino Guardian, the consultation paper proposing some major reforms to the gaming legal and regulatory framework of the country was first published in mid-July and was due to close on August 23rd.
Now, all interested parties will be given the chance to contact the Malta Gaming Authority until September 4th in order to share their opinions on the proposed reforms.
The last few years saw Malta turn into one of the most popular gaming destinations among the leading iGaming operators in Europe as the country offers a more favourable regulatory framework in comparison to others. Currently, the Malta Gaming Authority serves as the country’s body that is entitled with the responsibility to regulate the local gaming sector and to grant gaming companies with operating licenses.
As part of MGA’s efforts to provide the best regulatory framework and legislation environment, Malta’s regulatory body published a special White Paper in the middle of July 2017. Through this consultation paper it seeks to propose major reforms to the gambling legislation of the country. In addition, the Malta Gaming Authority has been seeking to annul the currently existing legislation in the country and to replace it with a new piece of legislation that would better serve the local gaming market.
As explained by Malta’s gaming regulatory watchdog at the time when the White Paper was published, the MGA is seeking to introduce a singular piece of legislation that would be a primary Act of Parliament. Complementary legislation covering the major regulatory areas is also planned, as well as number of directives and guidelines.
The newly-proposed legislation and regulatory framework would give the Malta Gaming Authority the opportunity not only to make decisions more quickly, but also with the power to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens. What is more, opportunities for better supervision are being sought by the regulatory body, as well as a chance to focus its primary efforts on areas that are considered to bring higher risk.
The Malta Gaming Authority also seeks to make the country’s legislative and regulatory standards more oriented to certain objectives in order to further development to be encouraged and innovation to be brought to the local gambling market. In addition, the country’s gambling regulatory body has been also focused on customer protection in order for the watchdog to be able to raise customer protection standards as well as to tighten the measures regarding responsible gaming.
Apart from publishing the White Paper consultation in July, the MGA also lifted the curtain and revealed some of the key parts of the recently-proposed Gaming Act. The need of a new-generation piece of legislation has been highlighted by the Executive Chairman of the MGA, Joseph Cushieri, who has revealed that the local gambling market needs a legislation and regulatory framework that is in line with the recent innovations in the global market.
- Author
Daniel Williams
