The existing system grants licenses in several classes, but the proposed system will only have two categories of licenses: a business-to-business (B2B) one and a business-to-consumer (B2C) one, depending on the focus of applicants’ operations.
The new Gaming Act comes as the first revision of Malta’s gambling legislation in fourteen years and was initiated by the Malta Gaming Authority’s former Executive Chairman, Joseph Cuschieri.
Aside from introducing a simplified licensing system, Malta’s new Gaming Act provides the MGA with extended regulatory powers and enforcement functions. The regulatory body will thus be able and expected to implement stricter rules and tools for countering money laundering, terrorism financing, and other illicit financial flows often associated with the gambling industry.
The new Gaming Act is expected to facilitate the process of providing gaming services from Malta by introducing a simplified licensing process and thus boost the growth of the nation’s gaming industry even further. The new law also aims to bring Malta’s regulatory regime in line with the current igaming landscape and demand for iGaming services.
The new regulatory regime is now set to come into effect from July 1, 2018 for remote gambling operations, and from January 1, 2019 for land-based businesses.
Source: GMB / Casino News Daily
