The entire gaming sector in Malta yesterday had an informal meeting with Lotteries and Gaming Authority executive chairman Joseph Cuschieri and Parliamentary Secretary Jose Herrera.

It was sorely needed not just for the people in the gaming sector to have an opportunity to meet and network but also for them to meet and interact with the executive chairman and the parliamentary secretary and also to hear about new developments on the part of LGA and the government which interest the sector.

The meeting took place at the Corinthia Marina in St George’s Bay.

Mr Cuschieri, speaking first, outlined what he has been doing in the eight months since he was appointed chairman.

Internally, LGA was in need of a shake-up and also of getting increased resources so as to be able to cope with regulatory pressures, offer a more efficient service, cope with the expectations of the industry and improve its delivery.

It will soon be getting better IT systems and more investment in new technology so that it becomes a paper-less organisation.

LGA has also been reviewing the legislative structure. The actual law is now 11 years old and must be updated. The technology has shifted in the past 11 years and today gaming is aiming more at the tablets and smart phone generation which did not exist then.

Mr Cuschieri promised a wider consultation with stakeholders about future changes, something which was not always done in the past.

In particular, LGA wants to open up the sector to the new kinds of gaming that are coming in, especially games of skill, for which it has already received many requests. Geographically, LGA wants to open up more areas to Malta-based companies, such as Latin America (Argentina and Chile) and Asia (Cambodia and China). Many of these are not open to foreign companies yet but LGA hopes to persuade them it is far better to allow the gaming sector to open up and compete rather than go underground and proliferate.

Mr Cuschieri acknowledged there is a thirst for change among stakeholders in the sector. He believes there are massive opportunities ahead for the sector as long as a culture of excellence is aimed for.

In conclusion, Mr Cuschieri said one of his targets is to set up a gaming version of FinanceMalta, such as GamingMalta to heighten international visibility for the sector. His second target is to set up a gaming academy which seeks to get more Maltese students get the skills required by the gaming industry. Later interventions would fine-tune this idea.

This is a year of consolidation for LGA, Mr Cuschieri said: the new products and results will only become apparent next year.

Parliamentary Secretary Jose Herrera gave some figures for the sector. One may say the gaming industry in Malta started off after 2004 and Malta’s accession to the EU. Today there are more than 250 gaming companies in Malta, and more than 400 licences have been issued. The sector employs upwards of 9,000 employees. The sector contributes more than 12% to GDP and the annual growth rate is some 9% per annum.

Dr Herrera acknowledged the sector is finding difficulty in making bank transfers as apparently only BOV is doing so.

However, Dr Herrera went on, the industry is now facing a serious problem: the recent Council of Europe Convention.

The speaker was to expound more on this issue when he replied to a specific question later.

The original intention of the CoE was good, and in fact, Malta had agreed with the intention: to combat illegal sports betting. But at drafting stage some countries had introduced a clause which says that it is the law of the country of residence of the bettors that decides that something constitutes illegal betting, not the country of origin of the betting company.

In other words, it may be that something that is allowed by the laws of Malta as legal betting, is considered to be illegal in the countries where the clients live.

Malta has opposed this clause from the beginning and has so far refused to sign the Convention but 70% of the 48 members of the CoE have now signed up.

Malta has now taken the unprecedented step of asking the European Court of Justice to rule on whether this clause is according to the EU treaties. Malta has taken on board legal advice from the Attorney General, from the university and from LGA’s legal team. Malta has other options open to it in case the European Court’s advice goes counter to Maltese opinion.

There is however a complication in that the EU is taking part in the discussion. Malta has already asked for the Commission’s intervention but this so far does not go far enough. The situation will get more complicated if the EU were to decide to sign the Convention as it has been drafted. Malta however has other options open to it.

On the other hand, Malta is arguing this is a CoE regulation and not an EU one and should thus not bind EU member states.

Finally, Dr Herrera said there is no conflict about the gaming industry between government and Opposition. The present government supported the previous government when it was in Opposition and so too is happening today.

As regards the Gaming Academy, Dr Herrera said contacts have already been established with the university, MCAST and other academic institutions to back the Academy. This will not be for Maltese students alone but also for existing gaming industry employees, both Maltese and foreign, who may want to upgrade their skills. The academy may also attract foreign students.

Finally, Mr Cuschieri cleared up an issue which has been doing the rounds on some websites, which he said was the result of a single meeting with a single journalist in Barcelona. LGA is still exploring the idea of a skills-based app on social media and it is not true the draft in this regard has been concluded and also presented to Parliament.