PL demands safeguards on betting rules

Labour has called on government to put people’s minds at rests that the necessary safeguards will be taken to keep vulnerable people away from gambling houses.

22 September 2011, 12:00am

1 min read

“We can’t just hope for laws, but we need administrative measures and the necessary rules to ensure the law is observed and that the government pays attention to the social aspect of gambling and its effects on families,” Labour social affairs spokesperson Carmelo Abela said.

Abela expressed concern over a request for proposals designed to reopen betting shops for sports pools. The shops had previously been used for video lottery gambling but were closed down in mass shutdown back in August 2009.

“This government has already made a mess of the gambling shops when they were introduced,” Abela said.

Finance minister Tonio Fenech has intentions to liberalise the present gaming licence operated by Maltco, and open up multiple licences for sports betting, MaltaToday reported on Sunday.

The move would inevitably lead to the reopening of betting houses in villages and towns.

But the Ministry has denied that the proposal would lead to the liberalisation of sports betting, adding that “sports betting is already open to competition through online gaming which is also available locally.”