New Malta online gaming regulator speaks
News on 19 Nov 2013
News on 19 Nov 2013
A press release from the Malta online gambling regulator the Lotteries and Gambling Authority reveals that new chief Joseph Cuschieri was refreshingly candid in his address to the Malta iGaming Seminar on the Mediterranean island recently.
In October the industry was taken by surprise when LGA chairman Mario Galea and CEO Reuben Portanier suddenly resigned for reasons still not publically understood .
In his first address as LGA executive chairman, Cuschieri accepted that the remote gaming industry is facing key challenges, particularly with respect to national authorisation systems imposed by EU member states on remote gaming companies; new jurisdictions setting up their remote gaming regimes; and the revamp of the regulatory framework to cater for other forms of gaming like social gaming.
He said that it was imperative that the LGA re-invent itself for the next decade so that it would be able to maximise new opportunities and drive growth in the sector, and committed himself to an ambitious agenda based on organisational change and “future-proofing” the industry.
Cuschieri wants to see a more “professional, agile, proactive and strategically driven” body that will reduce bureaucracy and simplify processes.
Online gambling regulation provides around 10 percent of Malta’s economic growth, the new regulator said, stressing his commitment to projects like the new Responsible Gaming Foundation.
Players often dismayed at a perceived lack of interest in the LGA for their welfare and the resolution of disputes will be heartened by Cuschieri’s insistence on the need to enhance player protection mechanisms so that players are adequately protected.
The new regulator emphasised his commitment to what he referred to as a “broader consultation process” with industry stakeholders designed to “…improve the quality of decision making whilst enhancing transparency, fairness and effectiveness in regulatory interventions.”
Cuschieri’s business jargon-laden statement and general promises of improvement will however be pragmatically judged by operators and players alike on specific and identifiable changes and enhancements at LGA in the coming months.
