News | Sunday, 01 February 2009

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MaltaToday fined €7,000 but Fenech says Gaming Law still under review

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech told MaltaToday that the government has been going through an extensive revision of all gaming laws in the past months. Yet this will do nothing to rescind a decision by Criminal Appeals Court under Judge Giannino Caruana Demajo to fine MaltaToday €7,000 for a snippet that appeared in the newspaper four years ago.
The news brief, tucked in the culture pages, made a passing reference to the presence of slot machines at a prominent brasserie. The Attorney General appealed against the original verdict by the magistrates’ court, which had acquitted editor Saviour Balzan of promoting gambling, and the Appeals Court last week overturned the ruling.
The maximum fine outlined in the Gaming law for publishing an advert promoting gambling stands at €232,000 and/or two years imprisonment.
In his testimony Balzan declared that MediaToday had never received a cent for the miniscule snippet that promoted first and foremost a restaurant, and he argued that reference to the slot machines was inconsequential.
Out of court, Balzan had commented that the Attorney General’s actions, together with that of former Gaming Authority Chairman Joe Zammit Maempel, were clearly intended to ‘hit out’ at MediaToday. In his opinion column today (see pages 15 and 16), Balzan accuses the Gaming Authority and the Attorney General of picking and choosing whom to apply the draconian gaming law.
Finance Minister Fenech told MaltaToday that the revision includes the way the industry is regulated, increased player protection and responsible gaming, operating procedures and advertising.
MaltaToday specifically asked the minister how he intends to revise gaming laws which have permitted the proliferation of gaming halls inside villages and residential zones, exposing residents to gambling.
“Government has decided to take a holistic approach through this revision in view of the fact that gaming is a dynamic industry and the various areas within it constantly overlap. With this, the government hopes that the country will have a stronger legislation which covers the need to protect society whilst enabling the various sectors of the industry.
“In parallel with the revision of the gaming legislation and regulations, government is fast-tracking any regulations possible, within legal limits and without jeopardising jobs and business in the regulated sectors, including casinos and iGaming.”

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