MRGC to protect members in jurisdiction row

The Malta Remote Gaming Council intends to use every legal means possible protect its members and the industry following a series of attacks by member states on operators who hold a licence to operate online gaming services in other member states, a council statement said.

General secretary Alan Alden said that the European Court of Justice had ruled on several occasions that member states cannot stop cross-border gaming services offered by private companies licensed in other member states as they would be in breach of EC Treaty Article 49.

Yet rulings are repeatedly ignored by these jurisdictions which continue to refer to legal licences issued in other member states as illegal. The council said these accusations were frivolous and unfounded. Mr Alden claimed most of the member states making these claims have infringement procedures against them and are themselves not conformant to EU laws or treaties.

Maltese licence holders are subject to strict anti-money laundering procedures before being issued with a licence to operate and are required to comply with a number of measures, including responsible gaming and player protection measures superior to those implemented by most monopolies and stringent fraud procedures.

MRGC believes that if barriers start going up and protectionism sets in, the EU will have failed to achieve its objectives. The ECJ has recognised this and repeatedly ruled against monopolies.

"Accusations that all licences are illegal unless they are issued in the jurisdiction where the market is, is a very dangerous game to play," the statement said. "The main aim is to frighten players from playing with such private companies to the detriment of their legitimate business."