Anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL has sharply criticised Malta for inadequately tackling financial crimes, in a report highlighting the risks of banking and online gambling sectors. The report is a setback for the island that has sought to repair its reputation following the murder of a journalist investigating corruption.

Moneyval said that the Maltese police seldom used information gathered to trace criminal money and not enough was being done to tackle money laundering risks in online gambling.

A group of Maltese ministers issued a statement to say they were happy with the progress that the country had made so far and they would prepare a one-year plan to implement Moneyval’s 58 recommendations.

Moneyval said that although the country had tried to better understand money laundering risks, investigations were hampered by “limited resources, both human and financial.”

Moneyval added they were “not convinced” Maltese police could effectively investigate and prosecute “cases related to financial, bribery and corruption offences.”

Quickfire, the leading esports organisation based in Malta, has officially announced its rebranding campaign. The company is changing its name to Eden Esports. Eden Leisure Group CEO Simon De Cesare said: “We’ve decided to take this important rebranding decision with the aim to have Eden Esports become more in line with Eden Leisure Group’s identity and make it align more cohesively with the rest of the Group.”

Eden Leisure Group, Eden Esports’ mother company, is Malta’s is the biggest company in the entertainment sector. It has 11 business units, including the InterContinental Malta and the Holiday Inn Express, Casino Malta, Cynergi Health and Fitness Club, Eden Cinemas, Eden SuperBowl, food beverage outlets such as Paranga, Waterbiscuit and SkyBeach among other interests.

Their portfolio of events include the Supernova CS:GO Malta, Malta’s first tier-1 esports event, which offered $150,000 to 8 of the best teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and obtained over 29 million views. The Malta Esports Forum, Malta’s very first B2B esports event, bringing in some of the esports industry’s foremost thinkers and speakers to discuss various topics of interest. The Hotshot Series, an online CS:GO tournament series for the European continent that obtained over 5 million views and gave out $80,000 over 4 editions. The Nova Series, Malta’s largest LAN party event that has just past its fifth edition.

Following the implementation of the first phase of the Sandbox Regulatory Framework as of 1 January 2019, which established the possibility for authorised persons to be allowed to accept Virtual Financial Assets (VFAs) as a means of payment, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is announcing the launch of the second phase of the Framework. During this phase, the MGA will be accepting applications for the use of Innovative Technology Arrangements (ITAs), including Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platforms and smart contracts.

Further to the aforementioned, the MGA shall be extending the duration of the Sandbox Regulatory Framework until 31 December 2021. The 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 has been amended, in order to reflect the developments that have taken place in relation thereto. The Licensee Relationship Management System (LRMS) has been updated to the effect that both prospective and existing licence holders are now able to apply for the MGA’s approval in order to integrate ITAs within their operation.

ITAs shall be required to be audited by auditors registered with the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA) in terms of the Innovative Technology Arrangements and Services (ITAS) Act (Chapter 592 of the Laws of Malta), and shall only be accepted by the MGA if the audit report consists of a positive opinion and the MGA is satisfied that the regulatory requirements shall be adhered to by the authorised person.

An approval to participate in the Sandbox Regulatory Framework is conditional on the applicant holding the relevant licence issued by the MGA, without prejudice to any other regulatory requirements stemming from other applicable legislation, including but not limited to, the Virtual Financial Assets Act (Chapter 590 of the Laws of Malta) and the regulations issued thereunder.

Kindly contact the Innovation Team on innovation.mga@mga.org.mt for any queries related to the above.