Malta Gaming Authority Licensed Online Casinos and information on Malta Regulatory Body 2023

Overview

Malta Gaming Authority was founded in 2001 as the Lotteries and Gaming Authority. This is the main gambling regulatory body in Malta responsible for licensing and regulating most gambling activities in Malta, including sports betting and casinos. The Malta Gaming Authority issues both B2C and B2B licenses with gambling operators requiring B2C licenses to start offering their gambling services and products. 

Some of the gambling activities overseen and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority include:

• Online Casinos
• Sports Betting Sites
• Poker Games
• Pool Betting
• Bingo
• Lotteries

MGA was founded over two decades ago with the main goal of regulating different gaming-related industries that fall under its jurisdiction, protecting young and vulnerable players, providing fairness and transparency for individuals utilizing gaming services, and combating crime, corruption, and money laundering. 

Malta Gaming Authority is also one of the longest-running gambling regulatory bodies involved with remote gambling activities. It makes sure that the Lotteries and Other Games Act of 2001 and other gambling laws and regulations in Malta are enforced the right way by all licensed operators. The Malta Gaming Authority deals with everything else related to online gambling, including protecting player funds making sure their online transactions are safe and secure at all times, offering cooperation and guidance through all licensing application stages, and promoting responsible gambling.

MGA is also tasked with monitoring all activities of its licensees to make sure they operate according to local gambling laws and regulations. The team working behind the scene is also tasked with making sure players' rights are taken care of. There is also a team working for the Malta Gaming Authority which is responsible for ensuring the integrity of gaming devices and games via regular audits that primarily look into the fairness of games. These fairness audits are performed by accredited third-party testing agencies, such as eCogra and iTechLabs among others.

Operators require a B2C gaming license to offer online gambling services and products in Malta or to Maltese people. The Malta Gaming Authority issues B2C remote gaming licenses for different services, including online casino games which are played against the casino, virtual sports games, lotteries, live and in-play betting, pool betting, peer-to-peer bingo, peer-to-peer poker, commission-based gambling games, skill games, lottery messenger services, and more.

This leads to licensing application fees. As detailed on the official website of the MGA, operators invest €5,000 in a one-time application fee. This is the fee they pay so that the regulatory body can start the application process. Operators also pay €25,000 a year to keep their licenses. In addition, operators that offer controlled skill games (Type 4) also pay € 10,000. 

Malta does not have a tax-free policy. Therefore, gambling operators licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority invest 5% of their gross gaming revenues to pay taxes. In order to start the application process, operators need to present their business plan, go through the funding review procedure, have their gaming system reviewed by the regulatory agency, and submit all the required business documentation.