Malta Gaming Authority names Farrugia as CEO

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has appointed Heathcliff Farrugia as its new chief executive.

Farrugia comes in to replace Joseph Cuschieri, who left the regulator earlier this month to become chief executive of the Malta Financial Services Authority.

The MGA made the appointment after consultation with Silvio Schembri, Malta’s Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation.

Farrugia joined the MGA in 2014 as chief operations officer before going on to serve as chief regulatory officer in 2016.

In this role, he was responsible for regulatory activities of the MGA, with a focus on regulatory supervision, authorisations, compliance and player support.

At the same time, Farrugia was member of the Supervisory Council and also co-chaired the Fit & Proper Committee.

Farrugia was previously on the board at the Gaming Regulators European Forum, where he is still a member, and is also a member of the International Association of Gaming Regulators and International Association of Gaming Advisors.

Prior to his time with the MGA, Farrugia occupied various managerial positions at the Vodafone Malta division of telco Vodafone, and in 2013 was appointed as customer value management manager for Vodafone Italy.

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