Gaming Certificates and Approvals

Besides the two main categories of licenses which exist under the Maltese gaming regulatory framework, the said framework also envisages other forms of authorisations which must be obtained from the Malta Gaming Authority for the provision of a gaming service, gaming supply or key function. Such authorisations include the following:

• Material Gaming Supply Certificate;
• Recognition Notice;
• Key Function Certificate.

A ‘material supply’ or a ‘material gaming supply’ is defined as a gaming supply of such importance that any weakness or failure in its provision could have a significant impact on the operator’s ability:

• to meet its obligations under the Gaming Act and all applicable regulatory instruments; or
• to manage risks; or
• to continue business.

Any person offering one or more of the below material gaming supplies to an authorised person may request a material gaming supply certificate from the Authority.

A material gaming supply application is to be re-populated and re-submitted every year or when changes to the person/company have been carried out since the last submission.

The following constitute material gaming supplies:

1. Manufacturing, assembling, placing on the market, distributing, supplying, selling, leasing or transferring a gaming device;
2. Providing risk management services for the operation of a licensable game;
3. Providing event, content and, or odds;
4. Providing fraud management services for the operation of a licensable game;
5. Holding and, or managing player funds;
6. Providing services relating to CDD;
7. Providing services relating to player identity verification;
8. Providing co-location services and other managed information services, including cloud computing services and, or decentralised hosting protocols where the latter do not amount to a critical gaming supply; and
9. Providing back-up and disaster recovery

Of importance is the fact that, the authorised person must always ensure that the third-party offering the abovementioned supplies is in possession of such certificate. If there is no certificate then the authorised person assumes full regulatory responsibility for such supplies.

It is important to note the requirement for gaming devices and gaming systems to be approved (or exempted by the Authority, as the case may be) before any person services, places on the market, distributes, supplies, sells, leases, transfers, hosts, operates or in any other manner makes available for use any such gaming devices or gaming systems in the territory of Malta.

A Recognition Notice is a notice issued by the Authority whereby an authorisation issued by another Member of the European Union or the European Economic Area, or a State which is deemed by the Authority to offer safeguards largely equivalent to those offered under Maltese law, is recognised as having the same effect as an authorisation issued by the Authority.

A recognition notice may be obtained for the purpose of providing a gaming service, gaming supply, key function or any other authorisation in or from Malta. The purpose of a recognition notice is for the Authority to:

• recognise and rely on the license issued to the operator by the EU or EEA Member State;
• to ensure that by operating from Malta, there would be no regulatory gaps and the operations in or from Malta would be covered by the EU or EEA licence and overseen by the relevant regulator; and
• to impose any additional measures as may be necessary to entities operating in Malta.

The appointment of Key Functionaries is one of the conditions which must be fulfilled in order for an entity to be granted a gaming licence. Such an appointment can only be made subject to the attainment of a Key Function Certificate from the Authority. The performance of any one key function in the absence of the necessary certificate would constitute a criminal offence in terms of the Gaming Act, 2018.