The Lotteries and Gaming Authority is a single regulatory body that is responsible for the governance of all gaming activities in Malta, including Amusement Machines, Broadcasting Media games, Casinos, Commercial Bingo Halls, Commercial Communication games, Gaming Devices, the National lottery, Non-Profit games and Remote Gaming.
The Lotteries and Gaming Authority’s mission statement is
“To regulate competently the various sectors of the lotteries and gaming industry that fall under the Authority by ensuring gaming is fair and transparent to the players, preventing crime, corruption and money laundering and by protecting minor and vulnerable players.”
Hello, Mr. Cuschieri! Thank you for taking your time to answer our questions in an interview that we think will be very interesting to our readers. Is this your first visit to our country?
It is actually my second visit. I visited Romania about ten years ago, when I worked in the telecommunications sector. I used to work at the telecommunications regulatory body and I was working with the counterpart regulator.
Do you remember who your counterpart here was?
It’s been more than 10 years so I don’t remember.
What do you think of Bucharest? How do you find it?
We’ve just arrived yesterday evening so till now we did not have much time to see the beautiful city. Going back 10 years, I remember that Bucharest was quite attractive. And I am sure that the city has progressed from the time I visited 10 years ago.
The questions regarding the gaming industry will be divided in two sections, one will be about the Maltese Gaming Industry and the other on the Romanian one.
Here is the first question: What is the status of the Maltese Gaming Authority?
When I joined the Authority on the 1st of November, I spent most of the time trying to understand the challenges the industry is facing as a whole. I felt that the authority needed more resources and it needed to be re-engineered. So we spent a lot of time restructuring, getting new people in, re-structuring the new management team and now, after 8 months, I think we pretty much have a new strategy in place, we’re investing in new premises, and we’re investing a lot in IT, in customer experience, in consumer protection and in exploring new markets and developing better relationships. So I think that at the moment the authority is in a great place. There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of activities going on and new people with a lot of ideas.
Is the Gaming Authority linked to the Ministry of Finance or is it independent?
We are independent. A law which was passed in Parliament establishes that the Authority is autonomous. The Minister appointed me as the Executive Chairman of the Authority and therefore the government cannot interfere or dictate what needs to be done. The government can only give the Authority what is called policy direction. Evidently, the Authority has to follow the government’s policy and this is what we do. But other than that, we are independent. So I am not a government employee, I am on a definite term contract similar to the private sector, and we also run the Authority pretty much like the private sector, independent in the decision making process.
What is the process that has to be followed when there is a change in law, from project stage until getting into force?
A structured memo, stating the Authority’s need to change a law, the reason for the change and the impact of such a change is prepared from our end and submitted to the Minister. The Authority normally meets the Minister before submitting the memo and explains the reasoning behind the change in law. The Minister then consults with his advisers, comes back to the Authority with questions, and if all parties agree, the law is taken to the Cabinet of Ministers, where it has to be approved for its implementation.The changes in the law also go to Parliament to get final approval. Because of the way we are structured, the LGA has an Act and Subsidiary Legislation. For example, since our legislation has been unchanged for 11 years, at the moment we are in the process of changing it, since it needs updating and to be refreshed, particularly due to the advanced technology. Our legal consultants are helping us essentially align the legislation to the new strategy and the new vision of the Authority. We also need to go the Minister to present the changes and the same process as explained previously follows. Once it is approved by the Cabinet, the Authority can then make the necessary amendments, draft the law, go to Parliament, and once approved by the Cabinet, it then becomes legislation. In this particular case, when we’re changing such an important law, it is very obvious that we will be refreshing all of the legislation, and it will take quite long for the law to pass since the Authority will need to consult with the industry, stakeholders, and it will probably be also debated for a long time in Parliament. I truly believe that the process will take approximately a year or so.
to be continued …
