The Malta Gaming Authority’s No-Deal BREXIT Guideline

There has been a lot of back and forth among various sectors as to the impact of a no-deal Brexit. The far-reaching impact of this move by the United Kingdom to extricate itself from the European Union will have an impact on everything from something as benign as students travelling abroad to how EU and UK deal with cross border financial agreements. The stress around led to the Bank of England running stress tests in 2018 to see if the banking system will “be resilient to the disorderly Brexit scenario”.

✓Cards On The Table

The Malta Gaming Authority considered the premier gambling authority at this time, however, are not leaving the gambling industry rudderless in this turbulent time. The Authority released a concise yet informative guideline addressing a potential no-deal Brexit and how operators can go about ensuring they maintain licenced status and failing that how long they have to make alternate arrangements.

✓Guideline Overview

The Authority’s Brexit Guidelines covered three key areas of interest to current licence holders and those operating in Malta under a currently accepted UK licence. In particular in reference to Regulations 10 and 22 of the Gaming Authorisations Regulations (S.L. 583.05).

These can be summarised as follows:

1. Licence Holder Requirement (Regulation 10)

Holding a Malta gaming licence requires that the "person (is) established within the European Economic Area". Should there be a no-deal Brexit all licence holders established in the United Kingdom would no longer qualify, voiding their right to hold such a licence.

However, the MGA has made allowance for such licence to retain their validity by "transferring the licence to another company within the same corporate group". To save the gambling operator the cost and delays of acquiring a new licence this process simply requires a 30-day notice of intent, followed receiving approval from the MGA.

The MGA has also promised a “transitory period of twelve months” which begins once the UK has officially parted ways with the EU which means operators will be able to continue to operate legally while making the relevant applications.

2. Using a Non-Maltese Licence In Malta (Regulation 22)

Since the European Union advocates for free and fair trade it is possible to for a gambling operator to be based in Malta under licence with another European Union member state. This does, however, require the operator to “to apply for a recognition notice with the Authority”. This is to ensure the licence in question complies with the Authority’s standards.

Currently, such a licence would include that of the UK Gambling Commission, however, post a no-deal Brexit this would no longer be the case.

However, the Authority has stated that current UKGC licence holders, which have been approved by the MGA, will continue to remain valid for operation in Malta for up to 12 months post the UK exiting the European Union.

Any operator found abusing Regulation 22 will be in breach of the Third Schedule to the Gaming Act (Cap. 583 of the Laws of Malta) and will face criminal charges.

3. MGA Not Reinventing The Wheel

The final notice of interest in the Authority’s guide to their view on gambling post a no-deal Brexit addresses their view on the time and effort expended by the UK on optimising their legislative and legal framework.

While the UK may leave the Union the Authority will continue to:

• Recognise the validity of random number generator and/or game certificates issued according to UK standards
• Recognise the validity UK licensed and regulated credit, financial and payment institutions for the purpose of holding player funds
• Accept the use of UK licensed and regulated payment methods
• Accept the use of essential components located in UK territory
• Offer no objection to licensed operators having offices, including key function holders performing their duties from the UK.

This will allow licenced MGA operators to continue to utilise the tools and systems provided by regulated UK providers in pursuit of a safer and risk-free gaming experience which is great news for operators and players alike.