The prohibition of advertising of local casinos in terms of the Gaming Act is in violation of the right to freedom of expression, a court has declared.
In a judgement delivered by Mr Justice Gino Camilleri following a constitutional application filed by the former editor of The Sunday Times Lawrence Grech against the Attorney General, the Police Commissioner, the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.
Mr Grech filed his application after he was charged by the police in 2003 with having, as a newspaper editor, published an advertisement featuring the Oracle Casino.
He contested these charges, claiming that the publication in issue was not an advertisement but a small article published in the social pages of his newspaper about an offer by Go Mobile. The article was published free of charge.
Mr Grech added that other local publications, such as Malta This Month, which was distributed on Air Malta flights, regularly contained advertisements for local casinos.
These meant that his fundamental human rights to freedom of expression and of freedom against discrimination had been violated by his arraignment on criminal charges.
Mr Justice Camilleri yesterday that Mr Grech had correctly argued that the prohibition in terms of law was in violation of his right to freedom of expression.
The state had licensed casinos to operate in Malta. These were accessible to the Maltese public and, as a result, the ban on advertising of casinos was a cosmetic gesture, because advertising of casinos in places frequented primarily by tourists and on the internet was allowed.
But Maltese nationals were easily in contact with the advertising directed at tourists, as happened in the airport.
The restriction on the freedom of expression which Mr Grech should have enjoyed was, therefore, not justifiable.
However, the court did not find in favour of Mr Grech's that his right to freedom from discrimination had been violated as no evidence that the article had also been published elsewhere had been produced.
The court also said that the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister ought not to have been sued.