The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is in the process of developing a voluntary Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Code of Good Practice for the remote gaming sector (the Code). The Code would document common priorities and good practices for ESG in gaming, setting a voluntary standard for MGA-licensed entities.
This follows the Maltese Government's recent launch of a voluntary ESG reporting platform, designed to encourage companies to publicly report on their ESG performance and to help drive investment towards sustainable businesses.
From 2024, all large or listed companies in the European Union (EU) will be required to report on social and environmental issues affecting their businesses under the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. In this context, the MGA has been developing the Code to provide guidance for the remote gaming sector, to prepare local licensees for upcoming ESG regulations and to ensure that operators are proactive in achieving their ESG targets and can derive the benefits of running a sustainably conscious business model.
In establishing the Code, the MGA is aiming to capitalise on, and to help businesses to achieve, an increased focus within the gaming industry on promoting positive change in respect of societal and environmental impact. This is important to the investment community as well as to consumers, and is of increasing significance for employees who wish to understand what their employers are doing to improve their sustainability and impact.
The MGA will hope that the Code enhances Malta’s reputation as a leading gaming jurisdiction, building on Malta's progress in improving its anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing regime, which saw the jurisdiction being removed from the Financial Action Task Force's grey list in 2022.
The MGA added: “Looking ahead, we expect to see more and more companies taking concrete actions towards becoming more sustainable, and we believe that reporting such efforts contributes positively to implementing change within the sector and improving its overall perception, while also addressing the increasing demand for transparency and accountability in the industry."