Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) recently announced that daily fantasy sports is exempt from the requirement of a gambling licence. Step one towards the skill-based licensing framework will likely take Malta to the centre stage of DFS action in Europe, and can attract an influx of recent operators to this tiny Mediterranean island.

In its press release, MGA stated that during view of the section of skill and data inquisitive about fantasy sports, such an activity have to be differentiated from games of chance when it comes to licensing and regulation. 

According to the hot notice Fantasy Sports (Exemption) Regulations, 2016, ''Fantasy Sports'' and, or ''Fantasy Sports Game'' is a competition played for money or money’s worth whereby the winning outcome is decided predominantly throughout the skill or knowledge of the player, and where the effects are determined by the buildup of statistical result of the performance of plenty of individuals in sporting events, but shall not include the forecast of the score, point spread or another future occurrence of 1 or multiple events, and for the avoidance of doubt, the definition of a 'bet' ’ as defined within the Act shall not be applicable''.

The legal notice, very similar to the notorious US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), follows within the footsteps of several US federal states where regulatory bills have already been introduced.

''MGA's team had foreseen the upward push of a future Skill Game industry in Europe many years ago,'' said Valery Bollier, CEO of Malta-based operator Oulala.com. ''Malta has proven to have an excessively competitive jurisdiction on account of its pragmatism and its ability to conform itself quickly to the sense of history.''

The Maltese gaming regulator, whose main goal is to offer protection to customers, have been working several months now at the licensing framework to control skill-based games, including fantasy sports, in an effort to also set the principles for determining whether a game is a ''Skill Game'' or a ''Controlled Skill Game''. The framework is anticipated to be glided by the top of this year.

''This legal notice is step one in a process on the way to see Malta become the primary major European country to provide an actual skill game licence. It's therefore an overly exciting moment for our industry and for Malta,'' revealed Bollier. ''Malta being the primary major European country to supply a skill game licence means it's going to attract the eye of all the European DFS market and place itself firmly on the forefront of the DFS revolution.''

Read More... [Source: eGaming]