Renowned iGaming content provider, TaDa Gaming, is taking players on a deep dive to immersive play in latest Fishing-Shooting release Ocean Hunter. Adding to the thrilling gameplay, multipliers to 1000x and a host of underwater creatures offering significant bonuses are circling the Ocean Hunter and his net.

With Fishing-Shooting games, there are no paylines or reels, the whole screen is the game. Ocean Hunter enables players to play from the position of the Hunter on his boat; and in a change to cannon and ammo fire, a high speed net is cast, ready to capture anything and everything within the vicintity for even bigger rewards. Plus, every cast of the net adds to the Energy Bar Accumulator, building up to activate the Free Electric Net feature.

The ocean floor is a busy place for the Hunter as schools of fish, shivers of sharks and pods of whales race past. Whether Hammerhead or Razor Shark or Killer Whales, net one of these giants and trigger the Rainbow Feature for wins of 2x for sharks and 3x for whales.

Ocean Hunter is a game of strategy and skill. The settings allow for players to single out their chosen creatures by bonus value or multiplier level and fully personalise their experiences.

Multiple choice is offered with three rooms – Newbie, Joy and Honor, each with different volatilities from low, medium to high, different Lucky Wheel rewards from 500x, 750x to a max of 1000x but all offering both solo and multiplayer capabilities for social gaming opportunities.

Every click has the chance to trigger the Lucky Wheel with up to 1000x depending on which room players choose. In addition, between one and four additional multipliers of 2x, 3x and 5x are randomly applied to segments of the wheel to take the rewards even higher.

Each successful catch sees showers of gold coins pour down the screen and stack up in towers on the win counter, creating a magical visual display and recreating the feel of the casino or arcade.

Enhanced with a Sixties style “perfect pop” soundtrack and TaDa’s signature fine detail, high quality graphics and cinematic animations, the underwater hunt is the place to be this November.

Sean Liu, Director of Product Management at TaDa Gaming, said: “Fishing-Shooting games are known for being easy to grasp and getting more strategic the deeper in players get. Ocean Hunter delivers this style of play in a mobile first, fast paced and exciting adventure. It’s a great introduction for those new to Fishing-Shooting and an immersive challenge for more experienced players.”

The Malta Gaming Authority has published its Annual Report and audited Financial Statements for the 2023 financial year. The report provides insights into the Maltese land-based and online gaming industries, and outlines their performance in 2023. The report further provides an overview of the Authority’s accomplishments and offers a medium-term outlook for the future.

Supervisory Activities

• In 2023, the Authority conducted 21 compliance audits, and 125 desktop reviews The Commercial Communications Committee took five decisions regarding possible breaches of the Gaming Commercial Communications Regulations (S.L. 583.09). The Authority also issued 28 warnings, suspended nine licences and cancelled 11 licences. Furthermore, the MGA issued a total of 19 administrative penalties and one regulatory settlement, which amount to a total financial penalty of €172,900.

• A total of 28 AML/CFT Compliance Examinations were carried out; 13 were carried out by MGA and 15 by FIAU. During the same period, the FIAU imposed remediation and/or administrative penalties on seven licensees, based on violations discovered during examinations carried out in previous years, which amounted to €994,000.

• During 2023, the Authority received 24 applications for new gaming licences and issued 15 licences. A total of 13 applications were either rejected or withdrawn.

• Almost 1200 criminal probity screening checks were undertaken on individuals, shareholders, ultimate beneficial owners, key persons, employees and businesses from both the land-based and online gaming sectors. Applications of a more complex nature were escalated to the Fit & Proper Committee. In total, 64 decisions were taken by the Committee, including 14 decisions to reject individuals and entities who did not meet the Authority’s fit and properness criteria. The Supervisory Council reviewed 19 licence applications of which 14 were approved and four were rejected. One application was sent back to the applicant for further clarification.

• In 2023, 38 interviews with prospective MLROs and key persons carrying out AML/CFT functions were conducted with the aim of assessing their competence and understanding of the Maltese AML/CFT legal framework.

• The Authority, in its efforts to safeguard players and promote responsible gambling, assisted a total of 4483 players who requested assistance (including spill-over from 2022). Furthermore, 72 responsible gambling themed website checks were carried out, and 41 observation letters were issued to licensees outlining the responsible gambling issues and identifying areas of improvement.

• The Authority examines the financial standing of its licensees to ensure the continued viability of the business but also to safeguard the player funds. In 2023, 2059 Player Funds Reports were received and 24 player data extractions were carried out.

• A total of 49 websites were found to have misleading references to the Authority. In 23 instances, the information was not removed following notification, and notices are published on the MGA’s website with the aim of preventing the public from falling victim to such scams.

• In 2023, the Authority carried out just over 2300 inspections on Gaming Parlours, National Lottery Outlets, Bingo Halls and Non-Profit Tombola, in addition to another 7275 inspections, which were carried out to licensed casinos with the aim of having 24/7 inspectorate presence in such gaming establishments. Furthermore, the Authority was present during all the National Lottery licensee’s drawing operations. This is done to ensure compliance of the land-based licensees with the relevant rules and regulations.

• In 2023, following a consultation period, the Authority published the “Policy on the use of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) by Authorised Persons”. This policy supersedes “Guidance on the use of Innovative Technology Arrangements and the acceptance of Virtual Financial Assets and Virtual Tokens through the implementation of a Sandbox Environment”.

• In 2023, the Authority published amendments to the Player Protection Directive (Directive 2 of 2018), introducing five markers of harm. These are designed to help operators identify early signs of problematic gambling behaviour, enabling them to intervene in a timely and effective manner.

• In 2023, the Authority also published its voluntary ESG Code of Good Practice for the Remote Gaming Sector. The Code seeks to serve as an instrument for self-regulation, helping remote gaming companies align with best practices and maintain a position that allows them to effectively meet the evolving expectations of key stakeholders in the sector.

National and International Cooperation

• In 2023, the Authority received 255 suspicious betting reports from licensees and other interested parties. The Authority collaborated with enforcement agencies, sports governing bodies, integrity units and other regulatory authorities on 34 requests for information in relation to the manipulation of sporting events or violations of sporting regulations. Subsequently, these requests resulted in 44 data exchanges. In addition, a total of 235 alerts on suspicious betting were shared with the licensees. The Authority also contributed to 22 investigations into sports rules violations or manipulation of sporting competitions in 2023.

• The Authority sent 42 requests and received 77 requests for international collaboration. In both cases, most requests related to background checks as part of authorisation processes, or requests for information about the local regime.

• In 2023, a total of 75 letters of good standing were issued, providing feedback on the regulatory standing of the MGA’s licensed operators to the relevant authorities asking for this information.

• Additionally, in 2023, the Authority collaborated with other local regulating authorities and governing bodies on 124 requests for information.

MGA CEO Charles Mizzi said: “It is not a coincidence that the theme for the Annual Report is ‘sustainability’. The MGA’s ability to strike the right balance between allowing the industry to thrive and grow in a sustainable manner, while also protecting consumers, is key to Malta’s continued success.”

On November 11, within the framework of SIGMA Europe conference in Malta, the SIGMA Awards ceremony for the best market players took place. International iGaming holding PIN-UP Global received the BEST WORKPLACE 2024 award, confirming its status of the best employer in the iGaming industry for the second year in a row.

The SIGMA Awards annually honours outstanding leaders in the iGaming industry, recognising their achievements in innovation, team development and corporate culture. PIN-UP took the BEST WORKPLACE statuette thanks to its employee support programmes, HR process automation, team development and motivation systems.

“Receiving another BEST WORKPLACE 2024 award from SIGMA confirms that we are moving in the right direction, creating new trends and providing growth opportunities for true professionals. We at PIN-UP Global believe that only with the support and development of a team can a market leader reach true heights and set standards in the industry,” Oksana Izmailova, CHRO PIN-UP Global, said.

PIN-UP Global regularly conducts employee satisfaction surveys and pays special attention to the development of all team members. 60% of PIN-UP managers are promoted internally, and more than 20% of all new specialists start working for the holding company on the recommendation of current PIN-UP employees.