Malta Discusses Regulating Social Gaming Industry

As the debate about the dangers, perceived or otherwise, of social gaming hots up, the Maltese government might be the first to put its legislative head on the chopping block, as it considers regulation of one of the island's main sectors of employment.

In another sign that the online gaming industry takes its social responsibility seriously, one of the main motivating factors behind the draft bill in the Maltese legislature is the concern that line between remote gambling and social gaming is becoming increasingly blurred - and might lead to minors gambling.

The Lotteries and Gambling Authority (LGA) Executive Director Joe Cuschieri explained that "Malta has always been an innovator in proposing new regulations and legislation, as we did more than ten years ago with iGaming, this niche needs to be regulated as well."

He said that far from damaging the reputation and success of Malta as a destination for remote gaming companies, he was confident that it would "consolidate" Malta as a hub for remote gaming companies.

The shape of the proposed legislation is unclear, though its importance to the Maltese economy cannot be underestimated. Of 418,000 people on the island 7,000 are employed in the iGaming industry - which accounts fro 10% of Malta's GDP. With appropriate laws in place, this figure could rise, further bolstering the economy.

Social casinos are one of the fastest growing areas of the entire industry, with a recent prediction claiming that in excess of 1 billion players will be gambling at these sites by 2015.

As with so many areas of this fast-paced industry, legislation is always trying to play catch-up with the reality on the ground. At the International Masters of Gaming Law conference in San Diego in April, both Tel Aviv-based lawyer Tal I. Ron and French financial jurist Stephanie Attias defined a need to "protect children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling."

Malta has taken a first small step and might be joined in the future by several other European countries.