Reports Reveal Malta Gaming Authority Revoked 7 Licenses!

‘Reports Reveal Malta Gaming Authority Revoked 7 Licenses!’ (image source: www.mga.org.mt)

A new report directly from the Malta Gambling Authority (MGA) website shows that during the first 6 months of 2020, it cancelled 7 gambling licenses and suspended another 2.

The information comes courtesy of the MGA’s ‘Interim Performance Report’ made public on 13 February 2021. Under the section that covers compliance audits, compliance reviews, and formal investigations, the MGA issued 11 warnings, there were 2 suspensions, and it permanently cancelled 7 online gambling licenses. On top of this, the MGA dished out 9 administrative fines to online gambling companies under their licensing.

In a separate section the Commercial Communication Committee, another division of the MGA, acted upon 10 adverts or promotions deemed inappropriate. The statement specifically mentions that these adverts or promotions took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As for the full 2020 figures, the MGA report mentions it will publish the results of its data collation activities for the second half of the year and publish them in a yearly report in May 2021.

Play Support Statistics

One of the highlights of the MGA licensing authority for casino player and sports betting fans is the player support services. Any player accepted as a member at any remote gambling website under an MGA license can report the casino directly to the licenser.

During the first 6 months of 2020 authority received 2,431 separate requests for mediation assistance. Overall, the MGA resolved a total of 2,433 queries with some of those cases solved spilling over from 2019. We can assume that this means from the 2,431 requests for assistance in cases of players Vs gambling sites are still in the mediation process.

The number of player support requests is up 38% from 2019, and the MGA report says this is a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reading between the lines, due to lockdown in many countries, more people were at home and many of them used their online gambling sites as their chosen form of entertainment.

5 Companies and Individuals Refused an MGA License

Every company and the individuals in those companies requesting a casino license from the MGA must pass an assessment carried out by the MGA’s Fir & Proper Committee. In total, the committee made 132 decisions for licensing and the MGA refused to issue a license to 5 companies and individuals. There are still 35 conditional verdicts still remaining whereby applicants must supply further information.

6 Monthly & Yearly Report from The MGA Licenser

Every 6 months and yearly, the MGA issues its ‘Interim Performance Report’ on its website. The report covers multiple topics such as financial information, committee reviews, license suspensions and cancellations, player support statistics and tons more activities carried out by the Maltese authority for the period January 2020 to June 2020.

For those on the outside, the report contains interesting insights into the ‘days and months in the life of a licensing authority’. Publishing this type of data also helps the MGA live by its promise of being a transparent licensing authority happy to share information publicly while it gives us a way to check up on what purpose the MGA serves within the iGaming community as a whole.

From our point of view, and from an online gambler’s perspective, there are many positives coming out of this report. The MGA takes its responsibility as a licensing authority seriously, and the facts outlined in this news report only tell half the story. The report covers many more activities carried out by the MGA to ensure that players get a fair deal at online gambling sites, live dealer studios, and land-based casinos with online games the MGA issues licenses to.

Read the full report here…