MGA: new regulations on recreational machines
The regulatory authority based on the island of Malta, Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), has just published a regulation differentiating between arcade machines and gambling devices, a distinction that was not explicit in previous provisions. With this guideline, the Maltese regulatory authority wants to homogenize the regulations of the industry, as well as eliminate possible confusions. It is worth taking a look at the published document.
The Malta-based regulatory authority has just published a series of guidelines that make a clear distinction between arcade machines and gambling devices. ©antheah/Pixabay
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) it is one of the main regulatory authorities within the framework of the European Union and the world. Great number gaming operators and software developers they have a license issued on the small Mediterranean island that has gradually become a key center of the igaming industry .
Recently, the MGA has made public a brief document in which an explicit distinction is made between arcade machines and devices for gambling; such a distinction, which did not exist in the previous provisions, seems now more than ever necessary due to the rise of the mobile casino .
Recreational or gaming machines
With this distinction, the Maltese regulatory authority wants to avoid confusion and establish unitary lines by which operators and suppliers must be governed with regard to the machines they make available to the public. According to the document published this September , the regulations will directly affect the obligations that operators and suppliers of the gaming industry have to comply with by law.
The main difference has to do with whether the machine in question is scheduled to place a bet or it is a device that is used in the context of a bet. According to the MGA, the purpose of arcade machines is solely entertainment, regardless of whether they offer a prize or not and whether they are located in a gaming premises or not.
As for the devices for gambling, their definition offers few doubts. According to the document it is about any means that can be susceptible to use as part of a gambling-related service and that allows the player to place a bet. From this point of view, a gaming device (electrical, electronic or mechanical) can be anything from a slot machine to a dealer's rake.
"Gaming device" means any device or object, including any electrical, electronic or mechanical device, any gaming table, ticket or anything else, which is used or is by its nature intended to be used as part of or in connection with a gaming service to enable a player to place a bet, or to obtain the outcome of a game at a gaming venue.” – Malta Gaming Authority , Guidance Note on Gaming Devices and Amusement Machines
The distinction is extremely interesting because the regulatory authority includes among the gaming devices also toys that mimic the performance of a gambling machine . Terminals for placing bets and even mobile phones can be considered devices of this type. We are left in doubt as to how the reward boxes usual in video games.
The need for unitary laws in the EU
The regulations published by the MGA delves into the need to establish regulatory frameworks throughout the European Union , and not only with regard to the distinction between arcade machines and gaming devices, a distinction that seemed to have faded with the rise of online gambling.
We have seen this with regard to the need for clear regulations with regard to payment methods or to the use of devices which facilitate the access to online games by minors and vulnerable people. The same is true of the advertising , so debated today in New Zealand by the Royal Decree about to be approved, but which presents clear deficits that do not seem to be going to be solved.
A paradigmatic case is that of advertising slots , very poorly regulated, as it often uses graphic elements that are clearly attractive to minors, which should not be allowed.
