Malta Gaming Authority CEO steps down

Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) CEO Heathcliff Farrugia has resigned from the top job at the Maltese regulator. Farrugia and chief regulatory officer Karl Brincat Peplow both turned in their resignations on Tuesday, according to Times of Malta. Responding to the claims, the Maltese government acknowledged the dual departure but did not confirm details of potential replacements. “[The] Malta Gaming Authority’s chief executive officer Heathcliff Farrugia will not be renewing his contract at the MGA,” Malta’s Ministry of Financial Services and Digital Economy confirmed in a statement. “The MGA’s chief officer for authorisations Karl Brincat Peplow is also expected to seek new ventures. “The duration period of when their contracts end shall be determined by the MGA board in the coming weeks,” the ministry added. Farrugia had been with the MGA since 2014, occupying the COO and chief regulatory officer role before being promoted to CEO in April 2018. He succeeded long-standing CEO Joseph Cuschieri, who took up the same role at Malta’s Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Farrugia oversaw radical change at the MGA, beginning with the implementation of the Malta Gaming Act in August 2018, which replaced pre-existing legislation with a single regulatory act. A veteran of the regulatory sector, Peplow joined the MGA in 2009, serving in a variety of roles before transitioning to the chief regulatory officer role to replace the promoted Farrugia in 2018. During his tenure as CRO, Brincat Peplow oversaw the MGA’s authorisations, compliance, regulatory supervision and player support teams. He also served on the Maltese regulator’s supervisory council, commercial communication committee and fit and proper committee, which assesses prospective MGA licensees. Questions have now been raised over a potential conflict of interest within the MGA after reports emerged that Farrugia and Peplow were working on setting up a new gaming business in the months up to their respective resignations. In addition, Times of Malta alleges that Farrugia has been questioned by police over dealings with Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech, a suspect in the murder case of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese journalist who published stories about the leaked Panama Papers.