We are once again at that point: while Malta's name is dragged in mud in the international press, there is almost complete silence in Malta about the recent claims of links between some online gaming sites and the Italian Mafia.

All we have been told is that 'swift action' has been taken by the Malta Gaming authority against operators who are being investigated by the Italian authorities.

This 'swift action', the Gaming Malta board would have us believe, sends a 'strong message'.

The whole affair, on the contrary, sends a very different message.

Speaking at the launch of the iGaming Seminar (MIGS) last week, Parliamentary Secretary Jose Herrera said that isolated stories of companies that have been accused of engaging in criminal acts should not tarnish the good reputation of the industry and all the good work that has been done to achieve this.

For this he was roundly told off in yesterday's GWU paper L-Orizzont by fellow lawyer Anna Mallia, who, like so many in the sector, asked what kind of due diligence has been exercised since so many criminal links have been discovered, to our shame, in Italy.

The timelines are not all so clear, but it could be that persons who have been registered in Malta as representing online gaming companies had already had brushes with the law in Italy before they came to register in Malta.

Now, according to the Sunday Times, some of these companies are threatening to sue for damages if the persons who have been extradited to Italy are found not guilty.

If the Maltese authorities are so sure of the quality of their previous due diligence, why then this sudden panic because of the Italian request?

The MGA response to requests from this newsroom, published in last Sunday's The Malta Independent, are significant if one reads them in contrast to what has been happening: "Due diligence procedures are, for obvious reasons, internal and confidential. I can assure you that the Authority performs fit and proper checks on all qualifying persons involved in the applicant company as required by law and in doing so it abides by best practice principles within the parameters of the legal framework currently in force.

"Our fit and proper checks, including compliance and systems reviews which are carried out on all licensees and applicants, are often criticised for being too onerous. Having said that, we are proud of the fact that the manner in which we conduct such checks are considered to be best practice internationally."

There is silence all around. Could it be that the strange and unusual silence on the part of the Opposition, normally so voluble, is due to the fact that some of this due diligence took place when PN was in power and/or because the son of the former Prime Minister has been put under investigation?

Like financial services, online gaming regulation is the result of bi-partisan agreement over the years. Due to the very nature of the sector, there should have been more, not less, oversight and checks and balances. Malta's primacy in this regard is already under threat at the Council of Europe and we needed the assertion made in Il Sole 24 Ore that one online betting company is now thinking of paying taxes in the country where it operates rather than in the country where it is based like we needed a hole in the head.

The Minister for Finance has announced an ongoing review of the existing regulatory regime but maybe that is not enough. In normal circumstances, such a situation should call for a bi-partisan investigation and discussion (maybe with some sittings held in camera) at the House of Representatives.

Certainly we must all put in real practice what the Gaming Malta board said over the weekend: "Like any organisation that experiences exponential growth within such a short period of time, all the stakeholders and authorities that today serve the iGaming sector in Malta must evolve and adapt to the challenges such growth brings about. Whilst ongoing probity and due diligence checks and monitoring serve to ensure crime is kept out of gambling, the industry as a whole is encouraged to remain vigilant to ensure that Malta's reputation as a "home" to gaming is not threatened. Certainly, the events of the last week should not overshadow the significant contribution that Malta has made over more than a decade to the better regulation of remote gaming in Europe and worldwide."