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The Brits are moving fast
Malta faces strong competition from Britain as the Brits are moving to become one of the most trusted and respected remote gaming jurisdiction in the world, which they believe will attract a number of established operators-both UK-based and from abroad. They reason that it is in the best interest of for British consumers to regulate I-gaming. Critics say that it is impossible to do away with problem gambling and excessive controls or outright prohibition could make matters worse by encouraging the growth of illegal gambling. In any case the Maltese legislator thinks that as a first step that total prohibition should be exercised on local players. In sheer contrast the British government has offered the proposed new Gambling Commission full flexibility in its means of overseeing the i-gaming industry in order to increase the legitimacy of the regulations. In its review it also made notable recommendations with regard to the British land-based gaming industry. Under the government’s proposals, the responsibility for licensing of gambling premises will pass wholly from an amalgam of magistrates, local authorities and the Levy Board to local authorities, which will be obliged to make their decisions “in pursuit of gambling regulatory priorities” and in accordance with Gambling Commission guidance. So having seen the gargantuan steps being taken by the British Gaming Board what else can Malta do to catch up ?
Critics question what are the advantages that Malta as an ex British colony can offer to the industry. The answer is that Malta can be home to a number of big international betting sites, all having a strong financial and marketing base. Malta as a prospective EU member , still attracts the attention of several online gaming operators who are interested in relocating .Experts say this is due to its reputation as a well regulated jurisdiction coupled with the superior service offered by well regulated and competitive legislation.
Malta ‘s existing good bandwidth facilities will be enhanced next summer when Vodafone lays a submarine fibre-optic cable which will link the island to Sicily .The initial capacity of the system is 2.5 Gbits/sec with the potential to reach over 1 Tbit/sec. One of the frequent questions that online gaming operators ask before deciding to locate is the availability of bandwidth with alternative backup facilities. At present Maltacom, owns and operates with a single ‘Seabone’ submarine cable link to Sicily but the Vodafone second cable with be faster and allows for more competitive pricing. The availability of fast links is so crucial to online betting companies that rely on secure and tamper proof transmission of data over the internet. Another plus point is Malta’s bid to join EU next year and be part of the expected liberalisation on cross-border gaming.
Quoting Article 49 of the EC Treaty Member state may only impose and maintain restrictions which do not discriminate on grounds of nationality or residence. It is clear that ,according to this rule ,Member States will have to open their national borders to betting operators from other Member States. Sooner or later ,this general movement should logically include cross-border gaming. In this regard Member States have to realise that e-gaming is a unique activity and therefore should benefit from a proper ,adequate and technology neutral regulatory framework such as exists in Malta. Thus giving operators an opportunity to operate their services from within their national jurisdiction, they are not forced to operate their services from within their national jurisdiction, neither they are forced to establish their servers in remote and exotic overseas islands. Thus the ‘Gambelli ‘case being heard by the European Court of Justice cold prove significantly beneficial for Malta ‘s e-gaming industry ,should the court uphold a bookmaker’s right to provide cross border services.
