Several gaming companies based on the island nation of Malta have been sued or are threatened with lawsuits over the online operations in Austria. However, the Malta parliament has tabled Bill 55, which would protect those companies from foreign liability.
Bill 55 would amend and add a provision to Malta’s gaming regulations to prevent courts in Malta from awarding damages to offshore plaintiffs who sue the gaming companies for offering their services in other countries, according to a report by iGB.
The bill would end the local practice of courts ordering operators to pay back losses to foreign consumers and tells judges to “refuse recognition and/or enforcement” of judgments by foreign courts if they undermine Malta licensees’ ability to provide gaming services.
The bill’s sponsors say they want to put into code the country’s policy of encouraging gaming companies to locate there.
The bill has been criticized by Austrian and German attorneys who wrote to the European Commission that the bill was an attempt to “blatantly undermine the European rule of law by blocking the fundamental rights of EU citizens and residents.” The attorneys represent clients who want to recoup their losses after the Maltese casinos were ruled to be operating illegally in those countries.
