Judgment 'not so bad' for Malta EU Court Decision

[BingoT]

Judgment 'not so bad' for Malta
Malta: EU Court Decision "Not So Bad" After All?
The judgment by Europe's top court last Tuesday giving member states the right to ban online gaming websites does not impact Malta's lucrative industry as much as it seems at first glance, the former CEO of the Lotteries and Gaming Authority believes.

Over the past few years, Malta has seen a surge in the number of online gaming companies setting up base here because of favourable legislation and operational conditions, including taxation. In fact, it is estimated that about 10 per cent of the world's remote gaming companies operate from Malta, with the industry directly employing about 2,100 workers.

Matthew Xuereb

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[vinylweatherman]

Bad for players?

This could be bad for players. It seems that EU states are even allowed to ban operators licensed in OTHER EU states, rather than just those regulated in more lax jurisdictions.

I suspect an appeal will come from an EU regulated operator banned from offering services to a fellow EU state, whilst at the same time online gambling IS allowed in this fellow EU state by "home grown" operators, including the state.

It will be hard to show that "protection of the consumer", nor even "fraud prevention" are a reason to implement a ban, since rules on these matters are EU wide.

It WILL, though, have an impact on operators licensed outside the EU, who will find they can be barred from operating in some EU states. They may respond by moving their jurisdiction to a place within the EU in order to give them a stronger case in challenging such a ban. This would be GOOD for states such as Malta, but Malta will have to get "it's arse in gear" and prove to the player and regulatory communities that they are EFFECTIVE at regulation, rather than merely offering licenses. Some dismal performances by Malta in the past have severely dented their credibilty among players, and states wanting to object to Malta based operators could well use these examples to show that Malta is not effective enough to be trusted to protect consumers to the level required by the objecting state, and EU rules.