Gaming Act (Cap. 583), article 1

1. (1) The short title of this Act is the Gaming Act. (2) (a) The provisions of this Act shall, without prejudice to paragraph (b), come into force on the 1st August, 2018. (b) With respect to gaming devices, commercial tombolas and all other services provided in gaming premises and , or controlled gaming premises, this Act and all regulations made hereunder shall come into fo rce on 1st January, 2019. Interpretation. 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires: "agent" means a person acting for and on behalf of another person; "ancillary gaming supply" or "ancillary supply" means a gaming supply other than a material supply; "Authority" means the Malta Gam ing Authority established by this Act; "authorisation" means a licen ce, approval, certificate, recognition notice or similar instrument issued by the Authorit y authorising a person to provide a gaming service, gaming supply or a key function; "authorised person" or "authori sation holder" means a person who holds an authorisa tion from the Authority; "binding instrument" means an act, document or other pronouncement of the Authority having binding effect on those t o whom it is addressed, as may be prescribed by or under this Act , and shall include the conditions a ttached to an authorisation; "Board" shall mean the Board o f Governors of the Authority; "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Board and includes the deputy chairperson or another person appointed to act as chairperson in circumstances established in this Act or as deci ded by the Board; "Chief Executive" means the chi ef executive officer of the Authority appointed in accordance with this Act; "confidential information" means any and all information, whether written or otherwise, whether in electronic form or otherwise, and whether or not described specifically by the person disclosing it as confidential, whi ch is related to or connected with the commercial operation of the disclosing person, but shall not in clude GAMING [CAP. 583. 3 information that: (a) is in the public domain; (b) is or becomes generally available to the public other than as a result of its disclosure by the recipient in br each of confidentiality; (c) was available to the recipient on a non- confidential basis prior to discl osure by the disclosing party; (d) was, is or becomes available to the recipient on a non-confidential basis from a person who, to the recipient’s knowledge, is not bound by a confidentiality agreement with the disclosing party or is otherwise prohibited from disclosing the information to the recipient; (e) was lawfully in the possession of the recipient before the information was disclosed to it by the disclosing party; (f) the parties agree in writing is not confidential or may be disclosed; or (g) is developed by or for the recipient independently of the information disclosed by the disclosing party;  Cap. 378. "consumer" shall have the meaning prescribed by the Consumer Affairs Act ; "critical gaming supply" or "critical supply" means a material supply which is (a) indispensable in determining the outcome of game or games forming part of the gaming service, and, or (b) a n indispensable component in the processing and, or management of essential regulatory data; "directorate" means a division of the Authority as may be established from time to time; "economic activity" means any activity which by its nature is or could be carried out for the purpose of making a profit, whe ther or not such profit is for philanthropic or other fund raising purp oses; "financial year of the Authority" means a period from 1 January to 31 De cember of a year; "game" means a game of c hance or a game of skill; "game of chance" means an activity the outcome of which is determined by chance alone or predominantly by chance, and includes but is not limited to activities the outcome of which is 4 [CAP. 583. GAMING determined depending on the occurrence or outcome of one or mor e future events; "game of skill" means an activity the outcome of which is determined by the use of skill alone or predominantly by the us e of skill, but excludes a sport event, unless otherwise established by or under this Act; "gaming" means an activity consisting in participating in a game, offering a gaming servi ce or making a gaming supply; "gaming device" means any device or object, including any electrical, electronic, or mechanical device, ticket or any oth er thing, that is used or is by its nature intended for use as part of a gaming service or in connection ther ewith in a gaming premises; "gaming premises" means any premises accessible to the public, which is used or intended to be used for players to par ticipate in a gaming service; "gaming sector" means the economic sector focused on the provision of gaming services and gaming supplies and other serv ices and goods in connection therew ith or related thereto; "gaming service" means making a game available for participation by players, whether directly or indirectly, and w hether alone or with others, as an economic activity; "gaming supply" means a supply, directly or indirectly, of a good or service, in relation to a gaming service, which is eith er a material gaming supply or ancillary gaming supply, but does not include provision of a key function; "material supply" or "material gaming supply" means a gaming supply of such importance that any weakness or failure i n its provision could have a significa nt impact on the operator’s (a) ability to meet the operator’s obligations under the Act and all applic able regulatory instruments; or (b) to manage the risks related to s uch supply; or (c) to continue in bus iness, and the term "material supply" shall include a "critical supply"; "minor" means a physical person under the age of eighteen years, except where prescribed otherwise in specific instances under this Act or any other regulatory instrument; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for the gaming sector; "money and, or money’s worth" includes, without limitation, currency accepted as legal tender in the jurisdiction or jurisd ictions of its issue, virtual currencies, units of value, tokens of value, goods, services and any form of property which may be traded, sold, GAMING [CAP. 583. 5 converted into, or otherwise exch anged for money, goods or serv ices; "National Lottery games" means the Grand Lottery, Super 5 and Lotto, in the form envisaged in the National Lottery licenc e as well as any variation of any of the said National Lottery Games ; "National Lottery licence" means a licence granted by the Authority in virtue of a concession by the Minister granted und er article 11(3), to operate the N ational Lottery games and such o ther games as authorised by the Authority, and subject to such terms and conditions therein, and "Nationa l Lottery licensee" shall be co nstrued accordingly; "operator" means a person who carries out a gaming service; "player" means an end customer who participates or takes preparatory steps to participate in a game; "player funds" means player’s money and money’s worth held by an operator under an arrangement made between an operator an d the player for the provision of a gaming service and includes, but is not limited to, funds that the player has the right to withdraw a n d funds committed directly by players to games, pending determina tion of the outcome of such games; "player funds account" means an account held by or for or on behalf of an operator with a licensed credit, financial and, or payment institution in which p layer funds are kept; "prize" means the reward of money or money’s worth offered to one or more participants in a game in accordance with the ru les of the game; "recognition notice" means a notice issued by the Authority whereby an authorisation issued by another Member State of the EU or the EEA, or a State which is deemed by the Authority to offe r safeguards largely equivalent to those offered by Maltese law, and is recognised as having the same effect as an authorisation issued by the Authority for the purpose of providing a gaming service, gaming supply and, or key func tion in or from Malta; "regulatory data" means data which an authorised person is obliged to compile, retain and, or report to the Authority by o r under this Act or any other regulatory instrument; "regulatory instrument" means this Act, regulations made under this Act, and the Authority’s binding instruments; "stake" means money or money’s worth that is or must be committed in order for a player to participate in a game, wheth er or not it is risked directly on a result of the game; 6 [CAP. 583. GAMING "vulnerable person" m eans any person who is known to have a gambling problem, any person whos e social circumstances may mak e him or her more susceptible to problem gambling, or any person who, by virtue of a defect in the capacity of will and understanding , is rendered more susceptible to problem gambling, and this shall include players who are undergoing a period of self-exclusion, persons who have been diagnosed by medical professionals as bei ng pathological or otherwise problem gamblers, persons who are currently seeking treatment for problem gambling and persons un der the influence of alcohol or drugs. (2) In this Act and any binding instrument made thereunder, if there is any conflict between the English and Maltese texts, t h e English text shall prevail. PART II - Regulatory Objectiv es and Governing Principles Gaming sector to be supervised.