Igaming stakeholders urged to give feedback on Green Paper

Remote gaming operators and stakeholders have been urged by Maltese authorities to give the European Commission their feedback on how an effective regulated market across the EU can work.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech and Lotteries and Gaming Authority chief executive officer Reuben Portanier told delegates at the annual Malta iGaming Seminar last week that now was the time for them to voice their opinions.

The Commission has launched a Green Paper on the future of online gaming regulation on the continent. It is a purely consultative process but Mr Fenech pointed out it was a “unique opportunity”.

There is no harmonisation of gaming laws at EU level, unlike legislation for most activity across the bloc.

“Malta was relevant, and I believe, will continue to be relevant: from the onset we placed all our efforts in ensuring that our approach fully respected the European Union Treaty principles,” Mr Fenech said last Thursday.

“In the past seven years, we faced various challenges, which we addressed with confidence and managed to overcome most obstacles with a high degree of success.”

Around 200 delegates attended the two-day ‘MIGS’, as one of the highlights of the sector’s annual calendar has become known. Around 40 participants travelled to the island for the event at the Hilton Malta, four of whom from Canada. Participants from Malta included lawyers, financial services and IT providers, recruitment specialists, and real estate and relocation firms.

Interviewed by MIGS moderator AJ Thompson, Mr Portanier echoed the minister’s call for stakeholder participation in this process. He insisted the LGA would continue to maintain that the principles in the EU Treaty reigned supreme but stressed that a cross-border industry involved an element of trust.

He said stakeholders were able to put forward their arguments on how effective regulation can work and if all responded, the Commission would be able to evaluate the feedback in terms of quality, but also in terms of quantity as it would have an indication of stakeholder interest in the issue. He warned, however, the process would not necessarily lead to Europe-wide legislation but would possibly help to clear up misconceptions.

On its part, the LGA would support Malta’s government to present the jurisdiction’s position comprehensively and emphasised that its stance would be strengthened if operators responded “in full force”. Asked about the LGA’s position on speed to market, Mr Portanier explained that this was a controversial element. He said the regulator understood that speed was paramount when a licencee sought to introduce a new offering to its suite. However, clearances for new games that involved new licences required longer periods of time and operators had to be patient as the regulatory procedure had to take its course.

The chief executive officer underlined the LGA’s investment in human capital and other resources to support new structures as the gaming industry evolved to embrace new technologies.

Meanwhile, recent changes to Malta’s regulatory framework allowed the business-to-business gaming subsector a wider reach so that in some instances licencees are able to host business-to-consumer operators. This, Mr Portanier said, was “a step in the right direction”.

MIGS’ programme included presentations by event partners and round-table discussions on the regulatory landscape, the operational environment in Malta, and the ‘triangle of trust’ between gamer, regulator and operator.

Malta-based operators also showcased their experiences of working from Malta. There were also several opportunities for networking and booths on the event’s periphery allowed service providers to handle enquiries.

Minister Fenech said that “according to the latest count”, there are 290 licenced operators in Malta, directly employing more than 3,000 people; a further 2,700 are estimated to service the industry.

The Lotteries and Gaming Authority has received nearly 700 applications since 2004 and there are 405 active licences. The jurisdiction, Europe’s first to create a fully fledged regulatory framework for remote gaming in 2004, has continued to attract the international gaming community’s interest with “record” applications submitted to the LGA over the last 18 months.