MGA B2C Gaming Service Licence

The EU’s benchmark gaming licence: one ten-year authorisation spanning four game types, issued by the regulator that effectively invented European online gambling supervision.

Structure and cost

The 2018 Gaming Act consolidated Malta’s old multi-class system into a single B2C licence covering game types 1–4: RNG casino, fixed-odds betting, peer-to-peer games and skill games — one licence, one rulebook, ten years. Application costs €5,000 non-refundable and takes four to six months through ownership vetting, key-function approvals, business-plan review and technical compliance.

Running costs are a €25,000 fixed annual fee plus a compliance contribution tiered by revenue. The 5% gaming tax applies only to revenue from players located in Malta — for international books, a rounding error. The substantive cost of the MGA regime is operational: approved key-function holders, audited player-fund segregation, ongoing compliance reviews.

Who it serves

Post point-of-consumption, the MGA licence is the operating credential for EU markets without local regimes and the corporate seal that satisfies banks, processors and B2B counterparties. It pairs naturally with national licences: a typical European group runs an MGA-licensed core plus local licences for Britain, the Nordics and Iberia.

The MGA also pioneered the dual B2C/B2B structure most regimes now copy: game studios and platform providers hold their own licences, so an operator can demonstrate a fully licensed supply chain. That layered credibility — operator, platform and games under one regulator’s supervision — is much of what the annual fee actually buys.

Key requirements

• EEA-established company with Malta presence
• Key-function holders approved by the MGA
• Player-funds segregation
• Audited AML/CFT programme; ongoing compliance reviews

Frequently asked questions