This report by the Malta Gaming Authority outlines how licenced online gambling operators in Malta implement self‑exclusion and other consumer protection measures. The goal was to identify areas of weakness and clarify expectations around consumer protection regulations. A mystery shopper exercise was carried out over 20 licensees and 58 active URLs. It assessed the effectiveness of self‑exclusion processes, cross‑brand account controls, and the presentation of required consumer protection measures.
The findings revealed areas in need of improvement:
- Delays in activating self‑exclusion
- Self-exclusions being lifted without a mandatory cooling‑off period
- Challenges in detecting duplicate or closely matching identity across brands
- The absence of limit‑setting prompts upon registration
- Incomplete information shown in 'reality check' pop‑ups
