Compliance Updates
MGA Publishes Skills Gap Report, Unveiling Insights into Workforce Trends and Industry Challenges
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has released its latest report analysing the skills gap in the online gaming industry, based on surveys conducted between 2020 and 2024. The findings, reflecting data from 2019 to 2023, provide valuable insights into workforce trends, challenges, and opportunities across MGA-licensed activities in Malta.
Key Findings from the Report
Positive Labour Market Dynamics
75.8% of surveyed respondents rated Malta positively in areas such as labour market trends, skills availability, and training opportunities when compared to other jurisdictions.
Vacancy Trends in 2023
At the end of 2023, 74.9% of job vacancies had been open for less than three months.
There were 92.5 vacancies per 1000 employees in MGA-licensed activities, with a total of 885 open positions reported by online gaming companies in Malta.
Vacancy Breakdown by Level
79.2% of open positions were at the operational level.
18.8% were at middle management, while top management roles accounted for 2.0% of total vacancies.
Roles in Demand
Marketing roles (including customer care) represented 21.1% of vacancies, while technology-related positions made up 16.8%.
Top Barriers to Recruitment
The most common reasons for unfilled vacancies over the reporting period were:
Lack of work experience.
Competition from other firms.
Insufficient qualifications.
Recruitment Trends in 2023
84.9% of surveyed firms hired personnel from other companies within the industry.
Only 25.8% recruited directly from university graduates, underscoring the need for better alignment between educational programmes and industry needs.
Addressing Skills Gaps
71.7% of firms implemented in-house training or mentoring programmes to address skill shortages.
55.4% intensified employee retention efforts as a strategy to close skills gaps.
MGA CEO, Charles Mizzi, commented on the report’s findings:
“As Malta’s gaming industry evolves, it is essential to adapt and strengthen the foundations that support its success.”
“The Skills Gap Report reveals important insights into the challenges and opportunities ahead, particularly the need for targeted skills development and stronger partnerships between educational institutions and industry. By addressing these priorities, we can ensure sustainable growth and maintain Malta’s leadership in the global gaming ecosystem.”
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Compliance Updates
DCMS Concludes Consultation on Gambling Regulation Funding
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published its consultation response on the funding of the Gambling Commission which took place between January and March this year.
The 2023 White Paper committed to a review of the Commission’s fees to ensure sufficient resources to deliver its core responsibilities and the commitments outlined in the Gambling Act Review.
The consultation findings now provide certainty on the Commission’s future income for the coming years.
Licence fees will increase by 25% overall, but the specific changes to fees will be different for each type of operating licence. New fee categories will also be introduced for most licences. Operators are strongly encouraged to review the annexes to the Government’s consultation response to understand how these changes affect their business.
Fees for society lotteries will be held at their current levels, and a new system of fees calculation will be implemented for non-remote general betting limited licence holders. Fees for personal licences will increase by a flat 25%.
Changes to the fees are subject to the passage of secondary legislation and will take effect on 1 October 2026.
Over the coming weeks, operators will be contacted by the Commission with further details about how this affects them and information about alignment to any new category. The criteria for the revised fee categories are set out in the DCMS consultation response. An operator’s submitted regulatory return data for 2025 to 2026 will be used to determine its new fee category.
For further information about the findings of the consultation you can visit the DCMS consultation response webpage.
The post DCMS Concludes Consultation on Gambling Regulation Funding appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Compliance Updates
Tim Miller Announces Departure from UK Gambling Commission
The UK Gambling Commission has announced that Tim Miller, Executive Director of Policy & Research, has decided to leave the Commission in September 2026 after 10 years of service.
Following his departure, Tim will take up a new role outside of the British regulated gambling industry, supporting governments, regulators and other organisations that are developing and overseeing gambling regulatory systems around the world.
During his time at the Commission, Tim has played a leading role in strengthening the Commission’s research and evidence base, bringing greater rigour and robustness to its research framework. He has overseen the development and launch of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain – the largest survey of its kind anywhere in the world – helping to transform the evidence available to inform gambling regulation and policy.
Tim has also led the Commission’s work to implement the Government’s Gambling Act Review White Paper, overseeing the introduction of a wide range of new protections and regulatory measures. These include reforms to age verification, financial vulnerability checks, remote game design, direct marketing controls and wider measures to make gambling safer, fairer and free from crime.
Tim Miller said: “I have worked at the Commission longer than anywhere else during my career and have found it the most rewarding and fulfilling role. In large part this has been due to the amazing and dedicated colleagues that I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside. That’s what made it a hard decision to leave but after ten years I felt ready for the next challenge.”
Sarah Gardner, Acting Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “Tim has provided outstanding service to the Commission for ten years. I would like to thank Tim for his significant contribution to gambling regulation and wish him every success in the future.”
The post Tim Miller Announces Departure from UK Gambling Commission appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
AGCO
AGCO Fines Great Canadian Entertainment $120,000 for Using Unauthorised Gaming System Software at Four Casinos
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has ordered monetary penalties totalling $120,000 against Great Canadian Entertainment (GCE) for using unauthorided gaming system software at multiple Ontario casino sites, a serious compliance failure that bypassed requirements designed to protect the integrity of casino gaming.
Gaming equipment and systems are central to casino operations. They process payments and wagers, support slot-game play and help maintain controls that protect the integrity, safety and security of the gaming environment. When these systems are used or operated without required testing, monitoring and approval, it weakens safeguards designed to detect and prevent unlawful conduct, including money laundering, and can undermine public confidence in Ontario’s regulated casino sector.
The AGCO reviewed 40 instances in which revoked or unapproved bill validator software had been installed across four casino sites between February 20 and March 15, 2025. Bill validators are components within gaming machines that accept and process cash and help support anti-money laundering controls.
The AGCO’s Standards for Gaming require gaming equipment and software to be tested and approved before being deployed in casinos. Bill validators verify the authenticity and value of cash inserted into electronic gaming machines and are an important safeguard. That is why these systems must undergo rigorous testing and approval to confirm they operate as intended, perform critical functions reliably and are authorised before being introduced into a live casino environment.
Casino operators are responsible for ensuring that changes to gaming systems are properly reviewed, tested and authorised before implementation. Using unapproved software in a live casino environment is a serious compliance failure.
A casino operator served with an Order of Monetary Penalty has the right to appeal the Registrar’s action within 15 days to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), an adjudicative body that is part of Tribunals Ontario and independent of the AGCO.
“The AGCO requires casino operators to protect the integrity of their gaming systems by making sure they are independently tested, approved and operating as intended. When unauthorised software is used in a live casino environment, it bypasses critical safeguards that are meant to uphold the integrity of gaming and the public’s confidence in the system. The AGCO will continue to hold all casino operators accountable for meeting Ontario’s high standards of gaming system integrity,” said Dr. Karin Schnarr, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer at AGCO.
The post AGCO Fines Great Canadian Entertainment $120,000 for Using Unauthorised Gaming System Software at Four Casinos appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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