Wire EMEA
Malta Seeks to Remove Grey-List Rating
Malta has made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and MONEYVAL to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime.
It is the first time that an EU Member State has been placed on this list due to increased and persistent money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
MALTA GOVERNMENT
UK - New London casino plans assessed Westminster City Council is looking at the possibility of building a new £100m high-rise casino block next to Leicester Square in London. The Huguenot House building currently houses 35 flats with a car park. The plans include a casino, a hotel, a cinema and 24 homes. If the project gains the appropriate planning permissions then the council wants to begin construction in 2025.
Estonia - OEG reports 2020 loss of €78.3m Casino operator Olympic Entertainment Group has reported a 2020 Covid period loss of €78.3m. In 2019, the company had made a profit of €42.5m. Restrictions arising from the pandemic were the major factor behind the losses, the group said in its annual financial report.
Olympic Entertainment Group AS says its management has focused on reducing costs and managing liquidity, in the light of the ongoing pandemic situation. In addition to independent cost reduction measures, management has benefited from salary compensation and tax deferrals state support measures implemented by the Estonian state in order to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. The sustainability of the company is not in question, management says. The report reveals that gambling and other sales revenue totaled €35.6m in 2020 (2019: €40.5m), while gambling revenue before the gambling tax generated: €41.1m (2019: €47.4m).
Ukraine - Evoplay signs Parimatch agreement Evoplay is taking its entire catalogue live with Parimatch. Under a new agreement, 3D and VR games will be integrated with Parimatch’s offering, as well as Evoplay’s wider collection of titles, including Epic Legends and Unlimited Wishes.
Evoplay’s CCO, Vladimir Malakchi, sees the deal as testament to the Evoplay’s growing reputation as one of the industry’s most exciting developers, and is excited to see how its valued catalogue of gaming products resonate with Parimatch’s audience.
Italy - bet365 goes live with SYNOT Games bet365 has confirmed the roll out of SYNOT Games’ to its Italian player base. The portfolio of games includes hit titles such as Book of Secrets, Fruit Awards and Respin Joker, alongside SYNOT Games’ newest releases.
“We all have one common goal – to bring players an incredible gaming experience. We are excited and proud to successfully launch our games with Bet365. Our portfolio with a well-balanced mixture of different themes is sure to become a big hit with their players, fulfilling the promise of a thrilling experience, “said Priscilla Gatt, Head of Business Development at SYNOT Games.
P8 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Malta has presented the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) with a so-called action plan to remove the island from FATF’s grey list of untrustworthy financial jurisdictions. In June, the FATF placed Malta on its grey list of countries that are not doing enough to stem the flow of illicit funds.
Te island has since signed a commitment with the FATF to bolster its fight against financial crime and it must prove it is taking that commitment seriously before it can be taken off the list. However, the plan gives no timeline of how long Malta expects to take to implement the changes, which could stretch into 2023.
Te action plan was drawn up by Malta National Coordination Committee, chaired by Alfred Camilleri, the permanent secretary at the finance ministry, and includes the heads of the island’s main regulatory and law enforcement entities in the financial sector.
Jurisdictions under increased monitoring are actively working with the FATF to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter
money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. When the FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it means the country has committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring. Tis list is often externally referred to as the ‘grey list.’
Malta has joined a rogues list of countries that have been identified with strategic deficiencies, which includes: Haiti, Nicaragua, Syria, Yemen and Uganda.
While grey-list classification is not as negative as the blacklist, countries on the list may still face economic sanctions from institutions like the IMF and the World Bank and experience adverse effects on trade.
Te countries on the grey list are subject to increased monitoring by the FATF, which either assesses them directly or uses FATF-style regional bodies (FSRBs) to report on the progress they are making towards their AML/CFT goals.
Malta Stakelogic recruitment drive for Live division
Stakelogic Live, the live casino division of online casino content provider, Stakelogic, has kick- started a massive recruitment drive in Malta where it is looking to add more than 100 game presenters to its team.
Stakelogic announced the launch of its live casino arm earlier in the year, and now it is scaling the business with more tables and more highly trained dealers. Stakelogic Live is calling on game presenters interested in joining its team to get in touch.
Anthony Sammut, Head of Stakelogic Live, explained: “Tis is a massive recruitment drive and showcases our commitment to the live casino vertical where we plan to take the market by storm in the exact same way as we have done with our modern video slot and classic slot games.
“We believe that the quality of our game presenters is a major factor in what sets our live casino content
apart from our rivals and that is why we are looking to work with the absolute best dealers in the business. If you think you fit the bill, then please do get in touch.”
Te launch of the recruitment comes shortly after Stakelogic Live debuted a brand-new corporate website as part of wider efforts to capture the company’s transition from a B2B slot studio to a provider of casino content for all stakeholders including players.
All Stakelogic Live games have been designed and developed in- house and are streamed from a state-of-the-art studio in Birkirkara, Malta, which also includes high-definition cameras, powerful microphones and the latest broadcast technologies.
Stakelogic Live currently offers multiple tables across roulette, blackjack, game shows and baccarat with plans to rapidly scale its operation over the coming months.
Malta
Playson has struck a deal with mobile casino operator, OmniSlots, to deliver its portfolio of games to the Full Force Gaming Group brand.
Blanka Homor, Sales Director at Playson, said: “Tis is an exciting deal for Playson as it sees us broaden our reach into markets that are in our focus. We have high expectations on how our content will perform. We are looking forward to working alongside the team at OmniSlots and delivering our premium range of games over the coming months.”
Robert Peters, CEO at Full Force Gaming Group, added: “We are happy to announce this deal with a company that has earned a deserved reputation for creating fantastic games. We are aware of Playson’s foothold in Europe and believe this partnership will help us enhance our online casino offering exponentially.”
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