The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has released its annual report for 2021, which outlined a total of seven license cancellations, 64 formal warnings and €176,016 in penalties.
Additionally, 13 other organizations were found to be lacking in anti-money laundering efforts and 13 more were deemed to have violated advertising regulations.
The MGA also handles problem gambling services, and the recent report said it had “assisted 6,170 players that requested assistance, covering most of the cases received during 2021 and the spill-over from 2020.”
More than 65 percent of license holders were audited or reviewed last year, and the MGA also collaborated with the country’s Financial Investigation Analysis Unit (FIAU) to conduct further examinations. The figures listed above resulted from these investigations.
“Criminal probity screenings” were also performed for more than 1,100 “individuals, shareholders and ultimate beneficial owners, key persons and other employees, and companies from both land-based and online gaming sectors.”
With that in mind, Carl Brincat, CEO of MGA, said in a statement that the regulator is trying to move towards “leaner and more efficient processes, to remove unnecessary bureaucracy which introduces burdens on industry without providing added value, and to become more effective in achieving regulatory priorities.”
The MGA opted not to suspend any licenses in 2021, down from 3 in 2020 and 11 in 2019, and instead decided to issue more warnings and fines than it had in previous years.
In attempts to foster further efficiency, the regulator also updated its license application process and changed procedures for how licensees are notified about non-compliance issues.
