GAMING COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 583.09

GAMING COMMERCIAL

COMMUNICATIONS REGULATIONS

20th July, 2018

LEGAL NOTICE 247 of 2018.

The title of these regulations is the Gaming Commercial

Communications Regulations.

(1)

In these regulations, save as provided in sub-

regulations (2) and (3), all words and phrases shall have the same

meaning as prescribed in the Gaming Definitions Regulations.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise

requires, "the Act" means the Gaming Act.

(3) All other terms used in these regulations shall have the

same meaning attributed to them in the Act.

PART II

Applicability

These regulations shall be applicable to

(a)

all authorised persons offering a licensable

game;

(b)

any person providing any service to, or on behalf

of, or in any way in collaboration with an authorised person

offering a licensable game.

No person shall promote, advertise, publish, or cause to

be published any commercial communication with respect to any

licensable game unless the game and the operator are duly authorised

in accordance with the Gaming Authorisations Regulations

Provided that where commercial communications in

breach of this regulation are published notwithstanding the provisions

of this regulation, the Authority may also take into consideration

breaches of the rules contained in these regulations during enforcement

or criminal proceedings, as the case may be.

PART III

General Obligations and Limitations

Commercial communications must be socially

responsible, with particular regard to the need to protect minors and

other vulnerable persons from harm or exploitation.

Commercial communications must not

(a)

portray, condone or encourage behaviour that is

criminal or socially irresponsible or could lead to financial,

social or emotional harm, or directly or indirectly encourage

anti-social or violent behaviour;

(b)

suggest that gaming can be a resolution to social,

educational, professional or personal problems;

(c)

suggest that gaming can be an alternative to

employment, a solution to financial concerns or a form of

financial investment;

(d)

portray gaming as socially attractive or suggest

that it can enhance personal and, or professional qualities, for

example by improving self-image or self-esteem, or is a way to

gain control, superiority, recognition or admiration;

(e)

portray gaming in a context of toughness or link it

to resilience or recklessness;

(f)

portray gaming as indispensable or as taking

priority in life, for example over family, friends or professional

or educational commitments;

(g)

suggest that solitary gaming is preferable to social

gaming;

(h)

suggest peer pressure to game, or disparage

abstention from gaming;

(i)

suggest that skill can influence the outcome of a

game that is purely a game of chance;

(j)

provide false or untruthful information about the

chances of winning or expected return from gaming;

(k)

exploit cultural beliefs or traditions about

gaming or luck;

(l)

make reference to instantly available consumer

credit services, or any other ways of providing credit to

players;

(m)

tarnish the goodwill and privilege that is

associated or related in any manner whatsoever to an

authorised person or tarnish the image or reputation of another

authorised person.

(1)

An authorised person shall not engage in any

activity that involves the sending of unsolicited commercial

communications, whether it is through its own operation or by the

intervention of third parties.

(2) An authorised person engaged in the sending of any

solicited commercial communications must comply with a request by

any person to stop receiving such commercial communications as

soon as is reasonably practicable, and in no case later than three (3)

days from receipt of the request.

Commercial communications should not target or be

sent to players who the authorised person knows, or reasonably

should have known, are undergoing a period of self-exclusion

Provided that the authorised person has a maximum of

twenty-four hours from the moment that the player has self-excluded

before this regulation becomes applicable.

An authorised person who, subject to the Data

Protection Act and the regulations made thereunder, collects

statistical data about players, and, or, groups players based on

patterns and demographics and, or other data or metadata, to identify

appropriate marketing strategies or player categorisation, shall not

use the data gathered to urge or induce any person fitting the profile

of a person with a gaming problem to play.

Provided that, any profiling of players carried out by

authorised persons shall always respect the principles laid down in data

protection legislation.

An authorised person shall not attempt to induce any

player to continue playing the authorised games in any manner when

such a player has shown the intention to stop the gaming session or,

where applicable, to leave the premises in which the gaming activity

is being conducted.

If an authorised person offers players an alternative

version of the authorised games, but with the exclusion of a stake and a

prize, the alternative version shall retain the same technical conditions

and be otherwise identical to corresponding authorised games.

All commercial communications must clearly display

(a)

the name of the relevant authorised person;

(b)

a reference to the entity which issued the relevant

authorisation whether such entity is the Authority or the

competent authority in the relevant jurisdiction, referring to any

relevant authorisation reference numbers

Provided that commercial communications displayed on

the websites, applications or any other channel operated by the

authorised persons, or within the licensed premises run by the

authorised persons, are excluded from the requirements of this

regulation if the above information is otherwise displayed on the same

website, or within the same premises.

For the avoidance of any doubt, any commercial

communications displayed by, within or via social media account

portals held by authorised persons or third parties acting on behalf of

or in collaboration with the authorised persons, are subject to these

regulations in their entirety.

(1)

No commercial communications may be issued or

distributed in any public place, or in or on any means of public

transportation in Malta

Provided that such restriction shall not apply to any

commercial communications published, displayed or broadcasted

within authorised gaming premises, or in any work environment used

by an authorised person.

(2) Sub-regulation (1) shall not apply to commercial

communications which are displayed or distributed in

(a)

locations frequented mainly by tourists, including

airports, seaports, hotels and holiday complexes

Provided that this shall not include bars and

restaurants;

(b)

conferences or events specifically organised in

relation to the gaming sector;

(c)

premises of operators;

(d)

premises of organisers or beneficiaries of

authorised low risk games; and

(d)

newspapers or magazines.

It shall be lawful for an authorised person to set up a

sign or notice identifying premises used or belonging to it

Provided that such sign or notice shall be placed directly

on the premises referred to above, or not further than a radial distance

of five (5) metres from the centre of the entry point to the premises

and that sign or notice is the only sign or notice relating to the

premises at that entry point

Provided further that the sign or notice is limited to the

identifying name or brand of the authorised person, and directions

towards the entrance.

For the avoidance of any doubt, authorised persons

promoting or advertising via broadcasting means shall be subject to

the Requirements as to Advertisements, Methods of Advertising and

Directions Applicable to Gambling Advertisements in addition to

these regulations.

PART IV

Responsible Gaming

Educational responsible gaming messaging shall be

prominently included within all commercial communications related

to gaming

Provided that where impractical due to spatial

limitation, such as on the screens of portable communications

devices, the relevant commercial communication may make use of

alternative means which capture the viewer’s attention effectively.

The web-portal address of any entity devoted to

responsible gaming must be carried on all commercial

communications and should be presented in a manner which is

clearly legible

Provided that where impractical due to spatial

limitation, such as on the screens of portable communications

devices, the relevant commercial communication may make use of

alternative means which capture the viewer’s attention effectively

Provided further that where the alternative method is

composed of click-throughs, the landing page should be no further

than two clicks away and should be either the operator's own

responsible gaming microsite, or any other web-portal of an entity

with a related objective.

GAMING COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS

PART V

Protection of Minors and Vulnerable persons

All commercial communications, with the exception of

sponsorship, must prominently display, for their entire duration, a sign

indicating the minimum age to participate in the game being promoted.

Without prejudice to the provisions of regulation 6,

commercial communications must not

(a)

be directed towards minors or vulnerable persons;

(b)

encourage or target minors or vulnerable persons

to play a game;

(c)

feature minors;

(d)

appeal to minors or vulnerable persons in any

way;

(e)

exploit the susceptibilities, aspirations, credibility,

inexperience or lack of knowledge of minors or vulnerable

persons, or present gaming as a sign of maturity or move to

adulthood.

PART VI

Sponsorships

For the purposes of these regulations, sponsorship shall

be limited to text, logo or imagery that serve the exclusive purpose of

identifying the authorised person, and excludes product placement.

Authorised persons sponsoring any organisation, event or

activity for any purpose, shall ensure that any logo or imagery used

clearly indicates the identity of the authorised person.

(1)

Where an authorised person’s gaming service is in

any way related to the sponsored party or event, the authorised person

(a)

must in no way exert undue influence in relation

to any sporting or other matters, on representatives of the

sponsored party or on any persons who can influence, or who

have insider knowledge about, the sponsored event; and

(b)

must avoid any implication that they might, as a

result of the sponsorship, have any involvement in the

management of the activities being sponsored.

Activities where the majority of the audience is

reasonably expected to be composed of minors or of vulnerable

persons, or which have particular appeal to minors or vulnerable

persons must not be sponsored.

Sponsorship of minors or of persons of legal gaming age

portrayed as minors is expressly prohibited

Provided that it is lawful for an authorised person to

sponsor events predominantly attended by, or teams composed of,

adults, but which might include the involvement of one or more

minors.

An authorised person shall not cause any promotional

material, including any logos or text, to appear in merchandising

designed for or mainly aimed at minors.

Sponsorship of, or advertising in, televised programmes

that have or are expected to have particular appeal to minors or

vulnerable persons is expressly prohibited.

PART VII

Misleading and Unfair Promotional Schemes

Promotional schemes operated by authorised persons

shall be subject to the Consumer Affairs Act.

(1)

Any promotional scheme purporting to grant any

advantage or opportunity to a player must not be misleading and

(a)

must be clear as to the extent of the commitment

the consumer must make to take advantage of any offer;

(b)

cannot omit or hide material information, or

present it in a manner which is unclear, unintelligible or

ambiguous;

(c)

must delineate with sufficient prominence all

material information, including wagering and, or deposit

requirements which must be fulfilled by a player in order to

become entitled thereto, including examples displaying such

requirements in an intelligible and easily comprehensible

manner, as well as all or any applicable restrictions or other

conditions in a clear and unambiguous manner;

(d)

must include terms and conditions referring to

all material information relating to the scheme, which shall be

expressly agreed to by the players before being enrolled in the

scheme and must thereafter always be readily available and

accessible to the player who has subscribed to the scheme

(2)

The authorised person shall ensure that players can

constantly view their progress in fulfilling the requirements in order to

benefit from any opportunity or advantage granted by the promotional

scheme.

Where the promotion or advertisement is limited by time

or space, it must include as much material information as is practical,

and must direct players to an easily accessible alternative source where

all the material information is prominently displayed;

Provided that where the said advertisement is of digital

nature, the material information should be displayed no further than

one click away from the advertisement itself.

PART VIII

Exemptions

Commercial communications, the sole purpose of which

is to inform the public of an opportunity for employment or for an

educational purpose, shall be exempt from the provisions of these

regulations, provided that such commercial communications shall not

include any references to gaming services.

PART IX

Enforcement

Without prejudice to the powers set out within the Act,

and any other regulatory instrument, and notwithstanding the

procedures envisaged in other regulatory instruments for enforcement

against breaches committed by authorised persons, for the purpose of

ascertaining that the provisions of these regulations are adhered to and

in the fulfilment of its function in accordance with article 7(1)(c) of the

Act, that gaming is advertised fairly and in a responsible manner

(a)

upon reception of a complaint by any person, or if

the Authority becomes in any other manner aware of a prima

facie breach of these regulations, the Authority must

immediately notify the respective authorised person of such

breach, and allow three (3) working days for the authorised

person to submit a defence in writing for this alleged breach;

(b)

the Authority shall examine the nature of the

alleged breach of these regulations, taking into consideration the

submissions of the authorised person and publish its decision

within ten (10) days from the receipt of submissions from the

authorised person. The authorised person must immediately be

notified in writing of such decision;

Provided that, the Authority may, when it deems it

necessary, instruct the authorized person in writing to suspend

the publication or provision of the commercial communication

until the final decision is reached by the same Authority and

the authorised person shall comply with such instructions;

(c)

in the event that the Authority determines that

such commercial communication does not comply with these

regulations, the Authority may order its modification,

retraction or termination;

(d)

the Authority may take any administrative action

required, including the issuing of administrative sanctions as

laid down within the Act and the regulations made thereunder

against authorised persons

Provided that, in the event that the authorised

person voluntarily amended, or temporarily suspended the

commercial communication in question, pending the final

decision of the Authority, this action will be taken into

consideration by the Authority when determining the nature of

the sanction;

(e)

the Authority may call on the support of any

relevant competent Maltese authorities for the removal of any

material which is in breach of these regulations or the Act.

(1)

An authorised person shall be held responsible

for any breach of these regulations, even if the action is not

performed directly by it, but by any third party

Provided that the Authority may decide against

subjecting an authorised person to administrative sanctions if it can

be shown that the third party acted without the knowledge or

approval of the authorised person, and as long as the Authority is

satisfied that the authorised person took sufficient precautions to

avoid such breaches being committed, and took action forthwith to

rectify the breach and endeavour that it does not re-occur.

(2) An authorised person shall, in the event that its gaming

activity is being advertised or promoted by a third party in breach of

these regulations, endeavour to rectify the situation forthwith.