Legislation that will regulate Video Lottery Terminals and other amusement machines is awaiting cabinet approval and should come into force by June this year, Lotteries and Gaming Authority chairman Joe Zammit Maempel said yesterday.

Dr Zammit Maempel was speaking during a seminar on the future of gaming in Malta.

Gaming is fast becoming an important source of revenue generation for the government. Last year, Malta’s Lotteries and Gaming Authority delivered around Lm4.4 million from casino operations, another Lm5 million from lotteries, Lm700,000 from commercial bingo halls and around Lm4 million from the remote gaming sector.

The new regulations will regulate the operation of thousands of coin-operated gaming machines at entertainment places and clubs all over Malta and Gozo.

Slot machines are currently prohibited and are only allowed in casinos. The authority is preparing to introduce a licensing regime for Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs), which are a different form of slot machines.

Dr Zammit Maempel said the authority has finalised draft regulations in this respect and the document has been passed on to the Finance Ministry which is expected to rubber-stamp the regulations before they are published.

He explained that the regulations have already been sent to the ministry and came back with a number of changes to be made. “Now we have complied with their wishes so it should not be a problem for this draft to go through,” he said.

Dr Zammit Maempel said that if the regulations are not given the go-ahead soon in order to come into force by mid-2007, the government will not be getting the revenue it is expecting.

During the seminar, participants also discussed other matters including that the gaming industry offers stable and rewarding job opportunities and careers, legal and finance expertise, marketing and customer care, and a whole host of other business opportunities.