Officials of gambling concerns have joined with sports stakeholders and police in Malta in calling on the government to review its national laws relating to sports integrity and policy, stressing that existing laws are no longer viable in the digital age.
The Malta Football Association (MFA), Malta Police, the attorney general and the Malta Gaming Association have formed a task fore to examine the issue. Last week, the group presented a draft bill to the government seeking to replace existing legislation, which dates back to the 1970s.
The draft bill includes tougher sentences for athletes and sports officials convicted of match0-fixing or otherwise breaching sports corruption laws. Malta sports clubs, associations and governances implicated in match-fixing or other corruption would face significantly greater fines under the bill.
The task force also calls on modification of laws to take into account modern sports consumption and online betting practices.
The effort is an attempt to address a chronic corruption problem. A study last year showed the Malta Football Premier Division to be the eight most corrupt league out of 53 professional leagues reviewed.
The jointly drafted bill has gained cross-party support from numerous Malta MPs, who wish to implement new legislation quickly in order to replace existing inadequate provisions. Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius commented on the bill
“We believe we must have the rules which are strict and can serve as a bigger deterrent, because we are dealing with organized crime,” said Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius. “It is a work in progress and may be amended further, but at some point, it will no longer be in the remit of the task force and will have to be taken up by the government.”
