The year is coming to its end, making it the perfect time to share the most notable achievements and successes that marked the months behind us. The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) went public with its interim performance report, encompassing the period between January to June 2019.
Reviewing the performance of the regulator, the report stresses out major projects along with key achievements throughout the same period. In addition to this, the document also features a section focusing on the key performance indicators for the first half of 2019 giving an outlook into the future, along with a comprehensive report explaining key stats for land-based and online gaming sectors.
The full-year industry performance report is expected to be published in June 2020, when the regulator will also announce its Annual Report for the financial year ending 31 December 2019.
Maintaining a Strong Reputation
Striving to ensure compliance with an evolving set of regulations, the institution paid special attention to increasing the collaboration efforts with the international counterparts, relevant authorities and other regulatory bodies. The main goal was to boost the efficacy of co-operation and exchange crucial information for improved regulation.
Following the release of the report, Peter Spiteri, Chief Officer Finance & Programme Management of the Authority, stated that:
“During the first six months of 2019, the MGA continued with the implementation of the Gaming Act for the land-based industry that became subject to the new law from 1 January 2019. A lot has been done by the Authority to ensure that the implementation was completed effectively and all systems and procedures cater to the new requirements.”
January-June Highlights
One of the milestone achievements was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Swedish Gambling Authority. Two regulators wanted to facilitate on-going mutual communications and support the effective sharing of information on matters of mutual interest and policy areas. The same document was signed with the Malta Police Force.
During the first six months of the year…
… the Authority issued 11 Notices of Reprimand, suspended 11 certificates and canceled another seven. Besides, the regulator issued a total of eight administrative penalties. The decisions followed information that emerged from compliance audits, reviews, and formal investigations.
On the other hand, the number of companies approved by the MGA, including both online and land-based businesses, totaled at 283.
Moreover, the regulator deepened its Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Funding of Terrorism efforts…
…through intelligence gathering and knowledge-sharing with relevant authorities. A total of 597 criminal probity screening tests were performed covering both land-based and remote gaming activities.
Besides, the Player Support Unit received a total of 1,753 requests for assistance and resolved 1,915 queries. Furthermore, the Unit took on an additional role in investigating the monthly Alternative Dispute Resolution reports submitted by the operators.
Source:
“The MGA Publishes its Interim Performance Report for the Gaming Industry for the Period January to June 2019”, mga.org.mt, December 20, 2019.
BralasLT
4 years ago
This regulator is really putting so many efforts to create an as safer environment as possible. IMO, the cooperation with the Swedish regulator is the biggest highlight of the year.
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