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Malta
Malta Gaming Authority
Top-tier regulator
The regulator behind more licensed online casino and betting brands than any other in Europe, and the benchmark most other iGaming licences are measured against.
Official regulator site →9
Operators we track here
Top-tier regulator
Regulatory tier
Malta
Jurisdiction
October 2026
Page last reviewed
Operators Licensed by Malta Gaming Authority
Every brand below has an active licence from Malta Gaming Authority confirmed in our own records — sorted by AskBigBonus Trust Index.
Winissimo
7.4 Trust Index
Sports BettingCasinoSlotsfootballcrickettennisbasketballEsportsoddsbonusesLicence MGA/B2C/231/2012 · Status: active
What Is Malta Gaming Authority?
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is Malta’s single regulator for all forms of gaming — land-based, online, and gaming-related devices — operating under the Gaming Act 2018. It replaced Malta’s earlier, more fragmented licensing structure with one authority and one rulebook, which is a large part of why Malta became the default home base for European-facing online casino and betting operators.
Malta issues two broad categories of licence rather than one blanket approval: a Gaming Service Licence (B2C) for companies offering games directly to players, and a Critical Gaming Supply Licence (B2B) for the platform, RNG, and game-content providers those operators run on. A single operator can hold several B2C authorisations at once, split by product rather than issued as one undifferentiated "Malta licence".
History & Background
Malta began regulating online gaming in 2004, among the first EU jurisdictions to do so, which gave it a first-mover advantage that much of the industry never migrated away from. The 2018 Gaming Act consolidated four previously separate licence classes into the current B2C/B2G structure and gave the MGA a broader supervisory mandate, including AML enforcement powers it didn’t previously hold directly.
Licence Types
Type 1 — Casino-type games
RNG-powered games of chance played against the house: slots, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, and similar titles.
Type 2 — Fixed-odds betting
Sports and event betting where the operator sets the odds and takes the other side of the bet.
Type 3 — Peer-to-peer games
Games where players compete against each other and the operator takes a commission — poker, betting exchanges, and player pools.
Type 4 — Skill games with a monetary prize
Fantasy sports and other skill-based formats where a stake is placed for a prize.
Licensing Requirements
- A B2C Gaming Service Licence for Type 1 or Type 2 games requires a minimum issued share capital, a non-refundable application fee, and an annual licence fee, on top of a compliance contribution that scales with the operator’s actual gross gaming revenue rather than being a flat charge.
- Applicants go through a fit-and-proper assessment covering the company’s ownership structure, its key individuals, and the technical systems the games run on — game platforms and RNGs used under an MGA licence must pass independent testing before launch, not just at initial approval.
- Licensees are required to maintain segregated player funds, keep detailed transaction and player-activity records the MGA can audit, and report material incidents (security breaches, extended downtime, suspected fraud) to the Authority within set timeframes.
Player Protections
- Player funds must be held separately from the operator’s own operating capital, so a licensee’s business troubles don’t automatically put customer balances at risk.
- Licensees must offer self-exclusion and deposit-limit tools, and Malta participates in cross-border responsible-gambling cooperation with other EU regulators.
- The MGA’s own published supervisory priorities for 2026 name player protection and sports-betting integrity as active enforcement themes, alongside closer scrutiny of crypto-asset payment controls specifically — a response to how much of the market now moves through digital-asset rails.
- Players have a right to escalate an unresolved complaint to the MGA’s Player Support Unit once an operator’s own internal complaints process has been exhausted.
How to Verify a Licence from Malta Gaming Authority
- 01Search the operator’s licence number (usually shown in the site footer) directly on the MGA’s own public licence register at mga.org.mt, not just on the operator’s own claims.
- 02Confirm the registered company name matches the licence holder — Malta licences are held by a specific legal entity, and a marketing brand can differ from the entity actually holding the authorisation.
- 03Check which licence class the register shows: an operator can be authorised for Type 1 casino games without holding a Type 2 sports-betting authorisation, or vice versa.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Malta Gaming Authority licence the same for every operator?
No. The MGA issues licences per activity — Type 1 for casino games, Type 2 for sports betting, Type 3 for peer-to-peer games, and Type 4 for skill games with a prize. An operator can hold one, several, or all of these, and its licence only covers the specific activities listed on it, not everything the brand might offer.
How do I check if a casino’s MGA licence is real?
Take the licence number shown on the operator’s site and look it up on the Malta Gaming Authority’s own public register at mga.org.mt. The register shows the licensed legal entity, the licence classes it covers, and its current status — a number that doesn’t appear there, or that’s registered to a different company than the one you’re dealing with, is a red flag.
Does an MGA licence mean an operator is automatically trustworthy?
It means the operator meets Malta’s regulatory floor — segregated funds, tested game systems, responsible-gambling tooling, and ongoing supervision. It doesn’t mean every MGA-licensed operator is equally good to play at; game selection, payment speed, and support quality still vary a lot between licensees, which is a separate comparison from the licence itself.
Why do so many online casinos hold a Malta licence specifically?
Malta was one of the first EU states to build a dedicated online-gambling licensing framework, back in 2004, and it consolidated that framework into one authority and one rulebook in 2018. That head start, plus being inside the EU regulatory and payments ecosystem, made it the default base for operators targeting multiple European markets rather than seeking a separate licence per country.
Keep Reading
Licensing status can change. AskBigBonus uses the operator information available in its database and recommends checking the current regulatory record on Malta Gaming Authority’s own public register before making decisions. This page is informational only, and inclusion of a brand does not constitute an endorsement.