Identifying a need to take a ‘proactive approach’, the Malta Gaming Authority’s (MGA) Sports Betting Integrity Department has made a number of updates to its requirements.

As of 1 October, the MGA requirements now include licensees that offer a critical supply chain function relating to sports betting. Consequently the Authority must be notified of any instance connected to suspicious betting by any licensee offering a sports betting service or technical component. 

In making changes to its alerts process, the MGA Sports Betting Integrity department will ‘alert its licensees with any knowledge of suspicious activity in its possession’.

The Authority has further confirmed that licensees will also be informed of instances of suspicious betting activity in relation ‘to any event that has been alerted by such’, without revealing the source of information.

Explaining its motivations for the updates, the authority stated: “One of the MGA’s commitments is to take a proactive approach in managing sports betting integrity with the aim of addressing the threats posed by match-fixing and malicious sports betting. 

“In this regard, the Authority’s Sports Betting Integrity department continuously seeks ways of improving monitoring and reporting capabilities across the wider Maltese sports betting sector.”

The changes have been deemed as beneficial to operators licensed by the MGA, as it ensures that all stakeholder  ‘are aware of suspicious betting activities known within the MGA’s radar.

Furthermore, the Authority added that licenced operators will be able to review their internal monitoring systems and better ensure that they have not been impacted by suspicious betting activity, whilst also benefiting from enhanced awareness of betting integrity risks across the Maltese gaming industry.

Lastly, the MGA is hopeful that the updates will enable it to conduct wider monitoring of betting activity and carry out a ‘holistic review and evaluation’ of the integrity risks throughout the jurisdiction.

The regulator further outlined its view that the ‘more informed Maltese betting sector’ brought about by the changes will bridge together ‘the Authority and its licensees in their collective fight against corruption in sports and sports betting’.