CPD - Continuous Professional Development
Key Persons licensed by the
Malta Gaming Authority (“MGA”) are required to keep up to date with legal and regulatory developments in their respective fields; and must be able to show that they have met their Continuous Professional Development (“CPD”) requirements in each calendar year. This is a pre-requisite for the renewal of a Key Person’s License at the end of each three year term.
MGA’s
Policy on the Eligibility and Ongoing Competency Criteria for Key Persons, requires Key Persons licensed to hold one or more key functions, to complete at least 10 hour per annum in CPD hours, with the only exception being the CEO who needs to achieve at least 5 CPD hours per annum.
The aim is to ensure that the MGA licensed Key Persons remain abreast of regulatory developments and keep building their knowledge and skills in the area relevant to their approved function. Failure to achieve the 10 CPD hours per annum throughout the three year licensing period, risks the MGA not renewing the Key Person license, thus placing the licensed operator in a state of non-compliance should it not have all if its functions occupied by licensed Key Persons.
The functions that are required to be held by licensed Key Persons are: CEO, Operations, Compliance, Legal, Technological Affairs, Internal Audit, Data Privacy, and for B2C operators, AML/CFT.
Activities that would qualify as CPD hours include (a) attendance to specialised seminars (not an exhibition expo), (b) writing of articles in specialised or academic journals, (c) training delivery (including lecturing), (d) attending CPD courses or (e) attending officially accredited courses that are exam based.
When a licensee’s HR and Compliance departments consider how their Key Persons should obtain their CPD hours, it is worth asking whether a value-for-money programme is available that does more than satisfy the MGA’s requirements. The right programme also brings the teams around each Key Person up to speed with gaming regulation, AML developments and other legal or technological changes affecting their roles.
Team based CPD programmes, let licensees go beyond ticking boxes, compared with each Key Person attending a course alone. Knowledge is built at a functional level as well as an individual one, whilst team based sessions allow for a certain level of flexibility thus typically having modules tailored to the operator’s own circumstances. They also give team members the chance to share their experiences in a safe and confidential environment when such sessions are delivered exclusively to the operator’s team.
GTG’s expert teams offer tailor-made training programmes, built around each operator’s needs. MGA-approved Key Persons earn the CPD hours they need to keep their Key Function Certificate in good standing, while operators, in turn, can train mid- to senior-level staff working in compliance, legal, marketing, responsible gaming, AML and fraud, finance, business development and customer support. To learn more about our modules and how the programme can fit your needs, email info@gtg.com.mt