Discrimination on the basis of nationality

According to an advert on my favourite Maltese radio station Capital Radio (the cause of much loud groans due to linguistic howlers, but that's beside the point), some casino or other in Malta (possibly all of them) is bound to require Maltese patrons to prove they are over 25 years of age, by means of an ID card or passport. Only Maltese patrons. If you're not Maltese, and you're younger than 25, you're still allowed into the casino.

This rule - I suppose it's a Maltese law - raises various considerations.

To begin with, according to EU legislation the rule is illegal. EU member states cannot discriminate between EU citizens on the basis of nationality.

That's the first point, and the most fundamental. But there are other considerations, which result from this ridiculous, illegal rule. My question is this: why are Maltese, and only Maltese, under-25's not allowed into the casino? I can imagine one answer to this: because they are not deemed to be mature enough to gamble in such places. If that is truly the reason for the rule, it's thoroughly insulting to all Maltese youngsters, who are considered by their national authorities to be less mature than their counterparts from all over the world. It's also a reflection of the low esteem that the Maltese authorities have of the product of Malta's educational system.

The alternative explanation is just as disgusting. Maybe the Maltese law-makers deem that ALL under-25's are not mature enough to gamble at a casino. But Malta cannot afford to lose the cash that foreign under-25's leave behind them at the gambling houses, so it only protects its own youth from the evil of gambling. Foreign youngsters might just as well lose their souls to gambling as far as we are concerned, so long as they lose their cash as well.

What a disgraceful attitude.

I wonder. What happens to the sons and daughters of mixed Maltese/non-Maltese parents? Is an under-25 who is 'tainted' by Maltese blood allowed to be 'tainted' by the evil of gambling? Is the 50% Maltese DNA overlooked for pragmatic economic reasons? Is the 50% foreign DNA deemed sufficient to make them mature enough to gamble? Illegal, disgraceful and ridiculous.