A former Malta gaming Authority inspector has accused the authority of failing to properly monitor online gaming computer servers and leaked e-mails showing the lapses to Reuters.
According to the report, Valery Atanasov, was dismissed from his role at the Malta Gaming Authority in 2015 where he was responsible for “sealing” computer hardware. This hardware is used by MGA licensed online gambling sites which provide casino games via the local servers.
To be licensed by the MGA, sites must comply with anti-money laundering policies. Employees, including Atanasov, then attach special stickers onto computer servers. The stickers contain ID numbers which link with the gambling operators’ equipment registered with the MGA. This allows the MGA to determine what is used for gambling transactions and allows the regulator to monitor any suspicious money laundering or other criminal behavior, the report said.
Atanasov gave Reuters emails three gambling companies and MGA employees which revealed there had been alleged sealing breaches. One email from 2012 between Betsson gambling operator representative, Robert Zammit and MGA officials revealed its gambling servers based in the Malta offices had not been sealed for years.
Atanasov reported discrepancies at company sites at least a dozen times to his managers at the MGA, then called the Lotteries and Gaming Authority, other emails showed.
MGA procedures require operators to provide the authority with diagrams of its equipment.
Atanasov claimed he had refused to seal equipment due to inaccurate diagrams, including for the Kindred Group – formerly known as Unibet. He said this led to multiple complaints from operators and he was dismissed for insubordination.
In internal documents investigating the complaints, the MGA determined that Atanasov was not supposed to check the accuracy of the diagrams. Atanasov denied that and said the MGA provided poor supervision.
Chairman of the MGA, Joseph Cuschieri, told Reuters that the sealing process was not the only system the gambling authority employed to deter money laundering and other criminal activities. He said more comprehensive procedures were applied.
