Compliance Updates
Germany: First esports tournaments and leagues qualify for simplified visa application process


The German Esports Federation (eSport-Bund Deutschland, ESBD) and game – the German Games Industry Association have jointly announced the first esports tournaments and leagues for which professional esports players from third countries will be able to take advantage of a new, simplified visa application process. Competitions that have qualified under the German Ordinance on the Employment of Foreigners (Beschäftigungsverordnung) include international leagues such as the League of Legends European Championship organised by Riot Games and 99Damage Liga from Freaks 4U Gaming as well as tournaments like the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne from ESL Gaming. Esports titles such as ‘Clash of Clans’, ‘Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’, ‘Dota 2’, ‘League of Legends’ and ‘Warcraft III: Reforged’ fall under the umbrella of these qualifications. In practice, the new process enables professional esports players from third countries to obtain a visa for these competitions under facilitated conditions, thereby placing them on equal footing with other occupational groups.
To take advantage of the simplified visa application process, esports players must meet certain requirements as defined by the federal government in the Ordinance on the Employment of Foreigners: they must be at least 16 years old, demonstrate a minimum salary level and present confirmation of their professional activity. game and the ESBD have agreed on a procedure to define the ‘substantial national and international significance’ of competitions and to verify applicants’ ‘professional practice’. The ESBD has made available an application portal and, for individual cases, an email address to all interested organisers and players.
‘Today Germany is already a location for many high-level esports competitions,’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘The newly facilitated visa issuing procedures for professional esports players will benefit the country’s long-term development in this arena. game and the ESBD have campaigned collaboratively for this political success. Now it’s important that promoters and esports players take advantage of the new opportunity.’
‘The esports visa represents an important easing of restrictions for professional esports in Germany,’ emphasises ESBD president Daniel Luther. ‘The burdensome previous process will now be a thing of the past. We’re thrilled that organised esports is advocating jointly for an improved policy framework.’
The second round of the process for inclusion in the list of qualified gaming operations will begin in October. Organisers seeking to register leagues and tournaments are encouraged to submit the necessary documents for verification. Leagues and tournaments which have already qualified must obtain renewed confirmation of their substantial national and international significance. The process takes place semi-annually.
The complete list of qualified tournaments and leagues:
• 99Damage Liga, Freaks 4U Gaming
• ESL One Germany, ESL Gaming
• ESL Meisterschaft, ESL Gaming
• Intel Extreme Master Cologne, ESL Gaming
• League of Legends European Championship, Riot Games
• League of Legends Prime League Pro Division, Riot Games
An extensive FAQ on the awarding of visas for esports players and organisers of esports competitions can be found at www.game.de/esport/esport-visum or at https://esportbund.de/esport/visa/
Compliance Updates
UKGC Imposes £6.1M Fine on Online Operator In Touch Games

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has imposed a fine of £6.1 million on In Touch Games (ITG) for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.
Social responsibility failures included:
- Not interacting with a customer until seven weeks after they had been flagged for interaction for erratic play patterns and extended periods of play.
- Accepting a customer’s word that they earned £6000 a month without verifying this information after the customer account was flagged due to customer spend and gambling during unsociable hours.
Anti-money laundering failures included:
- Not adequately taking account of the risk of a customer being a beneficiary of a life insurance policy; having links to high-risk jurisdictions; or being a politically exposed person (PEP), family member of a PEP or known close associates of a PEP, within its money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment.
- Not having policies, procedures and controls in place to address the risk factors mentioned above.
- Not sufficiently considering the Commission’s money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment or the Commission’s guidance.
- Not ensuring its policies, procedures and controls were implemented effectively, for example not following its own policy to request source of funds information from customers who had deposited and lost £10,000 in a 12-month period.
This is the third time ITG have faced regulatory action – in 2019 it paid a £2.2m settlement for regulatory failures and in 2021 it received a £3.4m fine and warning for further failures.
Kay Roberts, Executive Director of Operations at UKGC, said: “Considering this operator’s history of failings we expected to see significant improvement when we carried out our planned compliance assessment. Disappointingly, although many improvements had been made, there was still more to do.
“This £6.1m fine shows that we will take escalating enforcement action where failures are repeated and all licensees should be acutely aware of this.”
Compliance Updates
MGA Exploring the Development of a Voluntary ESG Code of Good Practice for Remote Gaming Sector

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is exploring the development of a voluntary Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Code of Good Practice for the remote gaming sector.
As noted by the MGA, the idea comes amid investors, consumers and employees becoming “increasingly aware of the impact that companies have on society and the environment,” which has resulted in a growing awareness of ESG matters.
Concerning this matter, the Maltese Government in recent years has launched a voluntary ESG reporting platform in a bid to encourage companies to publicly report on their ESG performance. This will then hopefully drive investment towards sustainable business.
Starting from 2024, all large or listed groups will be required to report under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), with the MGA now embarking on a journey to develop a voluntary code for the remote gaming sector. It aims to help guide and prepare local licensees for upcoming ESG legislation and to gain the benefits associated with running a “sustainably conscious operation.”
The code aims to establish the common priorities for ESG in gaming, with the needs of key stakeholders taken into consideration. Reducing environmental, social and governance impacts whilst continually enhancing Malta’s reputation as a leading Gaming jurisdiction is also being taken into consideration.
The MGA added: “Looking ahead, we expect to see more and more companies taking concrete actions towards becoming more sustainable, and we believe that reporting such efforts contributes positively to implementing change within the sector and improving its overall perception, while also addressing the increasing demand for transparency and accountability in the industry.
“As part of this initiative, the MGA has launched a survey with its licensees who are the key partners in the process of transforming the gaming sector into a more sustainable and transparent one.”
Compliance Updates
Boldplay Awarded Gibraltar Licence

Boldplay has been awarded a licence from the Gibraltar Licensing Authority to offer its services to all regulated online casino platforms there.
The supplier will now be available to offer its catalogue of over 80 slot, table game, bingo, keno and virtual scratch card titles to new audiences on a wide variety of regulated platforms.
While Boldplay has already received game certification for the UK, Portugal, Malta and the Isle of Man, the company has now acquired its first fully-fledged market licence.
Boldplay founder and Chief Executive Officer, Valli Fragoso, said: “As a Gibraltar-based business, we’re incredibly proud of gaining a licence that will enable us to operate in what is effectively our home territory.
“Some of the world’s biggest and most ambitious operators are located in Gibraltar and having our games available in their lobbies will help us further raise the profile of the Boldplay brand, pursue new partnerships and push on with our goal of becoming one of the industry’s leading software providers.”
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