Malta
The Gaming Act 2018 (Chapter 583) consolidated Malta's earlier multi-licence framework into a single, technology-neutral, risk-based regime with two licence classes — B2C (Gaming Service) and B2B (Critical Gaming Supply) — each spanning game Types 1 to 4. As an EU/EEA regulator the MGA is widely recognised, though many EU states now require their own domestic licences, so an MGA licence alone can mean grey-market exposure in those markets. Operators pay gaming tax on Malta-player revenue only (15% on Type 1 games and 10% on Types 2 to 4 since 1 October 2026, previously a flat 5%), plus a fixed annual licence fee and a variable compliance contribution tied to gaming revenue.
One licence, four types
The 2018 regime replaced the earlier multi-class licences with a single authorisation split only two ways: a B2C Gaming Service licence for operators facing players, and a B2B Critical Gaming Supply licence for firms supplying gaming or platform components. Game Types 1 to 4 are not separate licences but scope tags recorded on one authorisation, so a single operator may run casino RNG, fixed-odds betting, peer-to-peer poker and skill games under one instrument. Being technology-neutral, the framework is drafted to cover channels and products not yet named, reducing the need to relicense as offerings change.
Getting and keeping it
Authorisation turns on people as much as product. Applicants undergo fit-and-proper and business-plan scrutiny, and must fill defined key functions, each held by a person the MGA has separately approved, including a money-laundering reporting officer. The licence is not a one-off clearance: holders face ongoing compliance audits, system and technical reviews, and reporting obligations across the ten-year term. Player-funds protection and segregation duties sit alongside these, so client balances are treated as ringfenced rather than working capital. Approvals may be suspended or cancelled where key-function or funding conditions lapse.
Three separate charges
Malta separates three charges that are easily conflated. Gaming tax applies only to revenue from players in Malta: since 1 October 2026 it is 15 per cent of gaming revenue from Type 1 games and 10 per cent from Types 2 to 4, in place of the earlier flat 5 per cent; a 5 per cent rate applies to controlled gaming premises and junkets. For services offered solely at a distance the test is whether the player is established, has a permanent address or usually resides in Malta, so an operator serving mainly foreign markets from Malta pays little or none of it. Independently, every B2C licensee owes a compliance contribution calculated monthly as banded percentages of gaming revenue, with type-specific floors and ceilings. The fixed annual licence fee is a third, flat charge. For an operator serving mainly foreign markets, headline economics therefore depend far more on the compliance contribution than on gaming tax.
Recognition, not access
An MGA licence is an EU/EEA authorisation and is widely recognised, but recognition does not equal market access. Several member states, including Germany and the Netherlands, now operate their own licensing regimes and require a domestic permit to serve their residents lawfully. In those markets an MGA licence alone does not authorise activity, so continued targeting of local players can amount to grey-market or unlawful supply under national law. The practical reading is that the licence governs conduct from Malta, while each destination market sets its own condition of entry.
An AML regime too
Beyond gaming rules, B2C licensees offering Type 1, 2 or 3 games are subject persons under Malta's anti-money-laundering regulations, the PMLFTR; B2B suppliers and Type 4-only operators are not. Supervision is shared: the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit is the statutory AML authority, while the MGA monitors gaming licensees' compliance as its agent and refers breaches back to it. Operators must run customer due diligence, risk assessments and suspicious-transaction reporting, and complete the FIAU's annual Risk Evaluation Questionnaire. This makes AML failings, not only gaming-rule breaches, a live source of enforcement, and it ties the gaming licence to a separate body of financial-crime obligation.
Tax
Gaming revenue (GGR) from Malta-based players only
15% casino/RNG and 10% other game types; Type 1 versus Types 2-4, from 1 October 2026, previously a flat 5%
Gaming Tax Regulations (S.L. 583.10) as amended by L.N. 84 of 2026: 15% of gaming revenue from Type 1 services and 10% from Types 2, 3 and 4; 5% for controlled gaming premises and junkets. For services offered solely at a distance the tax applies where the player is established, has a permanent address or usually resides in Malta; revenue from players outside Malta is outside the gaming tax. Separate from the compliance contribution and licence fees.
Key facts
Malta across the portal
Compare Malta head-to-head
RTP rules
85% minimum average return to player for online games that use repetitively generated random selection (slots and similar RNG games), averaged over a calendar year unless the MGA specifies otherwise, under article 22(1) of the Player Protection Directive (Directive 2 of 2018). The floor was lowered from 92% to 85% in May 2021; a licence condition may set a higher figure, and the MGA may exempt a game where, because of its nature (for example player interaction), the test would not serve the regulatory objectives. The same 85% applies to gaming devices in gaming premises (article 21).
The Directive codifies no player-facing duty to display the RTP figure: the floor is enforced through licensee monitoring systems (article 22(3)), testing-lab certificates the MGA may require (article 23) and MGA audits and reports (article 24); game rules must be available no more than one click from the game.
Licence types
Fees
Change-watch
MGA published a thematic review of sports-betting integrity monitoring at licensees that had filed few or no Suspicious Betting Reports: low volumes mostly reflected restrictive limits, the removal of vulnerable events and reliance on external monitors' alerts; it clarified that suspicious activity first seen under a foreign licence must also be reported to the MGA when MGA-licensed players bet in that market, and asked for written escalation workflows naming the key compliance function
Revised gaming-tax and VAT frameworks take effect under L.N. 84 and 86 of 2026 (published 1 April 2026): the gaming tax and the separate charge on gaming devices are merged into a single gaming tax classified by game type for players in Malta, and the VAT exemption for gambling is recast
Gaming tax on revenue from players in Malta is now 15% for Type 1 (casino/RNG) games and 10% for Types 2 to 4, in place of the flat 5% (L.N. 84 of 2026); a 5% rate applies to controlled gaming premises and junkets, and B2B suppliers broadcasting from a studio pay a fixed EUR 3,000 a year
MGA and the Malta Digital Innovation Authority launched the AI Gaming Charter, a voluntary, principles-based framework for the responsible use of artificial intelligence in gaming operations, complementing the EU AI Act
MGA suspended the authorisation of Condor Malta Limited (C 70089, licence MGA/B2C/340/2016) with effect from 16 September 2026 under reg. 8(1)(f) of the Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations, citing regs 9(1)(a), (c), (d) and (m): it may no longer carry out gaming operations but must keep registered players' access to their accounts for visibility purposes; appeal lies under article 43 of the Gaming Act
MGA published its thematic review on governance assurance of key functions (chief executive, compliance, internal audit and AML/CFT), finding mature frameworks at many licensees alongside over-reliance on a few senior decision-makers and weak audit trails
MGA's 2025 annual report: 38 new licence applications received and 19 licences issued, 15 full-scope compliance audits and 109 thematic reviews, 35 cease-and-desist letters, 22 warnings, 30 administrative penalties totalling EUR 162,520, one licence suspended and two cancelled
MGA set out its 2026 supervisory priorities: cash and cash-equivalent controls, crypto-asset use, sports-integrity and athlete betting, and the quality of ADR reporting
Bill 55 (Gaming Act amendment) shields MGA licensees from enforcement in Malta of certain foreign judgments contrary to Malta's regime — controversial with other EU states
Sources (22)
Not legal or tax advice. This is a teaching summary; confirm every figure against the primary regulator (Malta Gaming Authority) before relying on it.