Pressure over Bill 55 continues as EU courts have been challenged to increase scrutinisation of the impact of the bill and its protection of Maltese companies.

Central to criticism of the bill is that it lacks transparency and doesn’t align with the EU framework and law.

One of the most vocal critics was the German regulator, the GGL, which put its case forward to the European Commission in a bid to push them to re-examine the law and its effectiveness alongside domestic and EU frameworks.

Previously, the GGL has stated: “We are of the opinion that this law should not be compatible with European requirements for the recognition of decisions (Regulation (EU) 1215/2002).

“However, the final assessment of this question is not the responsibility of the GGL. We have informed the federal states of our assessment and are otherwise in contact with the relevant authorities.”

In a more recent development, the bill was brought back under the microscope as Maltese courts ruled in two separa..

The fallout of the damning audit of Romania’s National Office of Gambling (ONJN) has entered Parliament’s arena as Gheorghe-Gabriel Gheorghe, President of the ONJN refuses to be interrogated by ministers.

The governance of Romanian gambling has been rocked, by an audit of the ONJN by the Court of Accounts (CCR), which shone a light on tax liabilities of between 3.3 billion and 4.3 billion lei (€630m to €900m).

On 4 March, Gheorghe’s was summoned to explain ONJN failings to an IT committee led by Ciprian Rus, Senator of the Romania Union Party (USR) . Gheorghe refused to attend stating that the USR held no accountability to call for a committee inquiry

USR took issue with the case and underlined that ONJN leadership ensures that it provides an explanation to Parliament, led by USR Senator Ciprian Rus, Chair of the IT Committee.

Senator Rus stated: “ONJN is subordinate to the Romanian Government and, according to the Constitution and the laws in force, is accountable to parliamentar..