Remote gaming companies in Malta : a review of the auditing implications

Abstract

In 2001 the Lotteries and Gaming Act was issued and in 2004 the Remote Gaming Regulations were issued. One of the laws stated that the financial statements of Remote Gaming Companies have to be audited at least within sixty days of the company's financial year end. Though gambling has existed for thousands of years, remote gaming is a sector which is increasing its popularity at a high increasing rate since the turn of the new millennium. Humans will always be attracted to the prospect of taking risk and winning big. Remote gaming is gambling were players are not face-to-face. Mainly this is done through the use of the Internet, thus IT is hugely involved in this type of business. The most favourite games are without any doubt poker and sports betting. The purpose of this dissertation is to take a look at how a Remote Gaming Company's financial statements and accounts are audited and to look at the main problems encountered while performing such an audit. This purpose was mainly achieved through several interviews with financial auditors and IT auditors of local auditing firms which have Remote Gaming Companies as their clients.