Maltese assessment rates gambling as “medium” AML risk
The annual National Risk Assessment found the effectiveness of mitigating measures to be high.
Malta.- The National Risk Assessment (NRA) 2023 has deemed online and land-based gaming in Malta to represent a “medium” residual threat for money laundering. It found the effectiveness of mitigating measures to be “high”.
The NRA is conducted by government bodies and the National Coordinating Committee on Combatting Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism (NCC). It categorises risk based on three pillars: measuring the impact, likelihood and threat level for each sector. This year, the report considered proliferation, financing and targeted financial sanctions.
The assessment identified virtual financial assets, cash and prepaid cards as potential money laundering threats. It also highlighted customer vulnerabilities, which were noted as the greatest risk. It concluded that the impact of the potential criminal control of licensed online gambling operators was severe and its likelihood possible. The threat level here was ranked as “medium-high”.
As for land-based gaming, the report identifies the use of cash as a significant money laundering risk, with a likely probability and again a “medium-high” risk level overall. Land-based bingo and national lottery were rated as low risk.
NRA recommendations for Maltese gambling operators
The NRA also made recommendations. It proposes enhancing the risk-based approach in both online gaming and land-based gaming sectors. It recommended the periodical updating of customer risk profiles and the maintenance of risk-based customer due diligence procedures. It also urged both sectors to use transaction monitoring systems to detect potential emerging risks.
In December, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) published its H1 Interim Performance Report. It reported that the Maltese gambling sector’s gross added value (GAV) to the Maltese economy for the six months stood at €810.7m. That’s a rise of 1.1 per cent year-on-year and represents 9.5 per cent of Malta’s overall GAV.
