Malta Gaming Authority chief executive to step down

Farrugia was appointed to the role in April 2018, having initially joined the MGA in 2014 as its chief operations officer.

In 2016, he moved into the position of chief regulatory officer, before replacing Joseph Cuschieri as CEO.

However, the MGA told iGB that Farrugia informed its board of governors he will not renew his contract with the regulator, and will instead pursue other career opportunities.

His contract had been due to expire earlier next year and has now been placed on gardening leave, with no administrative duties.

Prior to joining the MGA, Farrugia served in a number of managerial roles at the Vodafone Malta division of telco Vodafone, and also had a spell as customer value management manager for Vodafone Italy.

Farrugia was also previously a member of the board at the Gaming Regulators European Forum.

Confirmation of Farrugia’s exit comes after the MGA this month announced details of a new requirement for Malta-licensed sportsbook operators, whereby they will need to report suspicious betting patterns to the regulator from January.

In relation to this, the regulator is due to make its Suspicious Betting Reporting Mechanism (SBRM) available to all B2C-licensed operators from next month.