Industry News
MGA Publishes its 2018 Annual Report and Financial Statements

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has published its Annual Report and Financial Statements for the financial year ending 31 December 2018 (can be found here). The report provides an overview of the activities and work performed throughout the year by the MGA. Furthermore, the report includes a detailed summary of the performance of the Maltese gaming industry during 2018 as well as a medium-term outlook into the future.
Throughout 2018, the MGA mainly focused on the implementation of the new Gaming Act which empowered the Authority to further strengthen its regulatory oversight. Furthermore, the MGA focused on the regulatory compliance through implementation of a number of innovative internal and external initiatives which improved overall governance and supervision of the gaming sector. In 2018, the Authority continued to further strengthen its Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision, in order to ensure effectiveness in the mitigation of ML/FT risks relating to gambling services.
The Annual Report also looks at 2019 and beyond, with the MGA continuing to reinforce its compliance, risk and enforcement functions to ensure that it is equipped to achieve the regulatory objectives which the law requires it to pursue.
The following are the key highlights from the Annual Report:
- In 2018, the MGA and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) jointly issued the Remote Gaming Implementing Procedures – Part II that were directed toward the remote gaming sector. Throughout the year, both Authorities participated in cooperative initiatives to strengthen the oversight of the gaming sector;
- Throughout 2018, the MGA conducted a total of 33 AML/CFT full-scope examinations, eight of which were conducted jointly with the FIAU;
- During 2018, the Authority placed a strong emphasis on effective enforcement. To this effect, the MGA has issued 16 Notices of Reprimand and 73 Notices of Breach, suspended four licences and cancelled another eight. In addition, a total of 139 administrative fines were imposed on operators following various regulatory breaches;
- In 2018, the MGA’s Fit & Proper Committee deemed 63 individuals or companies to be unsuitable for a licence, or for a significant role in a licensee, as the case may be. In particular, 37 of these were related to individuals or companies considered as not having satisfied the integrity and reputation pillars of the MGA’s fit and proper criteria due to possible connections to money laundering or funding of terrorism. Around 2,000 criminal probity screenings were conducted during the course of 2018;
- In 2018, the Authority set up a Commercial Communications Committee as required in terms of the new regulatory framework, ensuring due process in the assessment of regulatory breaches stemming from the requirements relating to commercial communications. During the year, a total of 14 cases were evaluated, out of which seven decisions determined that there had been a breach of the regulations;
- The Authority received 209 applications for a licence and issued 93 licences to gaming operators, with the remaining ones still going through the acceptance process. A total of eight licence applications were rejected during 2018;
- During the year under review, the MGA continued its digitisation efforts, including further updates to the Licensee Relationship Management System to cater for the submission of the Monthly Licence and Compliance Contribution Report. Additional functionalities will be added on the portal throughout 2019; and,
- In line with its vision to become an increasingly knowledge-driven organisation, the Authority conducted and published the results of two major surveys in 2018. The areas analysed by the MGA included the skills gap in the gaming industry and the threats and opportunities associated with the consumption of gambling and gaming services by Maltese residents.
In publishing this report, Heathcliff Farrugia, Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Gaming Authority, stated that: “2018 was a remarkable year for the Authority, predominantly because of the coming into force of the new law on the 1 August 2018. The new framework strengthened the MGA’s supervisory role, specifically in the areas of compliance and enforcement, enabling it to focus efforts on areas which present a higher risk profile.
The new regulatory regime has also been pivotal in ensuring the Authority could become more agile in its decision-making.
Last year was also the year when Malta adopted the EU’s 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which saw online gaming companies in Malta becoming obliged entities for the first time. This was challenging, both for licensees and the MGA, which together with the FIAU, started conducting onsite AML inspections.
In 2019, the MGA’s focus will be that of consolidating what has been built so far, and continue building on its regulatory powers, to ensure holistic regulatory oversight focusing on the integrity of market participants and the protection of consumers, whilst also embracing technological innovation without prejudicing the attainment of its regulatory objectives.”
Industry News
XLMedia Partially Disposes Personal Finance Assets for $1.3 Million

XLMedia has announced the part disposal of the Group’s Personal Finance assets for a total cash consideration of $1.3 million (the Disposal). The Disposal comprises domains and websites including Investor Junkie, Greedy Rates and Young and Thifty owned by XLMedia Publishing Limited and Webpals Systems SC Limited, subsidiaries of XLMedia plc. The cash generated from the Disposal will be utilised in the day-to-day operations of the business.
The Disposal is in line with the Company’s strategy to exit non-core activities while focusing on the Group’s Sports and Gaming business, expanding its North American Sports footprint, while also refining and developing the Group’s EU Sports portfolio, and the Group’s Gaming assets in selected markets, including the US.
In the year ended 31 December 2022, the assets relating to the Personal Finance division generated revenues of $1.9 million and EBITDA loss of $1.3 million.
The Personal Finance assets were excluded from continuing operations as disclosed in the Company’s year ended 31 December 2022 results and have no impact on earnings in the current financial year.
Following the sale of these assets to MPD Media, the process to sell the remaining Personal Finance assets is at an advanced stage, but there is no certainty that a transaction or transactions will complete.
Industry News
IGSA Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The International Gaming Standards Association (IGSA) is celebrating 25 years of its role in support of gaming industry standards.
IGSA president Peter DeRaedt said: “In addition to the many champions and pioneers of our technical standards, we’re also proud and honoured to have featured a keynote video by Trevor Croker, CEO of Aristocrat Leisure, a founding IGSA member, and this week to feature a keynote video address by Rich Schneider, chief product officer of Light & Wonder and another 25-year IGSA member.”
Mark Pace, vice-president of the IGSA, said: “It has been great to see the congratulations and well wishes come in from all over the world from our current and former members, friends and colleagues.
“These companies have joined in celebrating IGSA’s 25-year anniversary through video messages that we have posted on our social media channels and website.
“We invite all our current and past members to join us at our annual meeting celebration and get-together at Canaletto in the Palazzo on October 10 while you’re at G2E.”
Industry News
Former iGaming Director Unveils Holistic Wellbeing Platform for the Gaming industry

HabitRewire, an industry leader in health and wellbeing for the iGaming sector, announced the debut of its innovative iGaming wellbeing platform. The turnkey white-label wellbeing solution can be accessed at any time, anywhere via a user-friendly app, helping employees across the world improve their wellbeing 24/7, inside and outside the workplace.
Presented as a ready-to-use white-label solution that can be branded as the company’s own, it offers an holistic, wide-ranging, and result-driven wellbeing solution that can be instantly deployed.
The platform draws upon HabitRewire’s ‘Habit Rewiring’ methodology, which is backed by robust scientific evidence. This innovative method is engineered to stimulate sustainable behavioural change, helping employees use daily practices to build the skills and habits to improve their physical health, mental wellbeing, and workplace productivity.
“True health and wellness stretch beyond diet and exercise,” affirmed Leo Judkins, Founder of HabitRewire. “Our platform delivers personalised, comprehensive wellbeing interactions across nutrition, movement, sleep, stress, time management and productivity to help employees reach their goals efficiently and effectively, wherever they are.”
The uniqueness of HabitRewire’s platform lies in its CRM capabilities and unique focus on the iGaming industry, reflecting Judkins’ rich, 12-year experience as a CRM Director in the field. His extensive knowledge from developing marketing automation platforms and managing global marketing teams, combined with personal journey of losing 35kg has directly influenced the creation of the HabitRewire platform.
“We use behavioural data, customer segmentation, and automated lifecycle campaigns to create personalised interactions throughout the employees entire wellbeing journey. From the initial stages of activation, onboarding and engagement, right through to retention and reactivation phases.” Judkins noted.
HabitRewire’s platform incorporates an various features such as weekly challenges, daily check-ins, community chats for peer-to-peer encouragement, leaderboards, workouts, recipe books and lifestyle guides.
Designed with the modern workforce in mind, the platform provides employee with a personalised dashboard that includes training advice, nutrition tips, and recovery strategies. The app allows users to schedule coaching calls with a team of experts that includes certified nutritionists, online personal trainers, sleep coaches, stress management professionals, and behaviour change specialists. Additionally, users can track their progress in real-time and sync their data with wearables and services like Apple Health.
“Most wellbeing solutions aren’t accessible for the employees who need it the most. They simply don’t have the time or energy to participate, which a key part of the problem. Our objective is to help people achieve their health and wellbeing goals, no matter where they are in their journey or what’s going on in their life right now” stated Judkins.
HabitRewire’s innovative platform signifies the shift towards proactive and individual care in the workplace, delivering wellbeing solutions directly to employees’ fingertips, no matter if they work from home or from an office.
Companies using HabitRewire’s platform can expect enhanced performance, increased productivity, and a significantly improved working environment. All quantified in weekly management reports that show measurable results.
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