Reference is being made to the Notice of Cancellation (hereinafter the ‘Notice’) dated 15 November 2019 issued by the Malta Gaming Authority (‘Authority’) wherein Morpheus Games (MT) (hereinafter the ‘Authorised Person’), holder of an authorisation bearing the number MGA/B2C/383/2017 (hereinafter the ‘Authorisation’), was provided with a twenty (20) day time period within which it had the right to show cause why the Authority should not proceed with the enforcement measure identified in this Notice in accordance with regulation 10 (2) (a) of the Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations (S.L.583.06) (hereinafter the ‘Regulations’). The Authorised Person, however, failed to make its submissions within the stipulated time-period.
In light of the above, the Authority is cancelling the Authorisation in terms of regulation 10 (1) (a) and regulation 9 of the Regulations insofar as it, in its sole discretion, has determined that cancellation of said authorisation is the most appropriate measure in consideration of the below grounds:
- The authorised person has failed to comply with one or more applicable obligations in terms of any regulatory instrument or any other applicable law of Malta [regulation 9 (1) (c)];
- The authorised person has failed to discharge financial commitments for its operations or the Authority has reason to believe that such failure is imminent [regulation 9 (1) (d)]; and
- The authorised person has failed to pay in a timely manner all amounts due to the Authority [regulation 9 (1) (l)].
Further to the foregoing, the Authorised Person is hereby being directed to:
- Settle all outstanding fees that are due to the Authority amounting to a total of eighty thousand and seven hundred and seventy four euro and sixty eight cents (€80,774.68) within a period of five (5) working days from the date of publication of this cancellation; and
- Remove, with immediate effect, any reference to the Authority and the Authorisation in accordance with article 51 of the Gaming Act (Chapter 583 of the Laws of Malta) (hereinafter the ‘Act’).
In terms of Article 43 (1) of the Act, if the Authorised Person feels aggrieved by the decision of the Authority, such person shall have the right to file an appeal before the Administrative Review Tribunal within twenty (20) days from the date of publication of this cancellation.
The Authorised Person shall remain liable for all applicable obligations emanating from the Act and any other applicable regulatory instrument. The Authority reserves the right to take any other measures pertinent to it at law in order to recover the outstanding dues to it from the Authorised Person should the latter fail to rectify accordingly.