EU-regulated MGA license
We handle Malta Gaming Authority licensing end to end - the benchmark tier-one regulator in the EU. The licence is issued to a Maltese or EU company, with each vertical approved separately. We structure the entity and share capital, source and secure key function holders, take your beneficial owners through fit and proper, and manage all correspondence with the MGA.
We run the project end to end - from incorporating your Maltese company through to the MGA granting the licence. Final pricing depends on the licence type, the verticals you need approved and how the project is structured.
MGA statutory fees for the first year. Share capital, incorporation and our fees are costed separately. Send us a short brief and we will come back with a full breakdown the same day.
Request a quoteWe prepare and submit the application, but the final decision rests with the regulator. MGA statutory fees, share capital and the compliance contribution are paid separately and are not included in our fees.
Operators choose Malta when they need a tier-one regulator, access to EU markets, and banks that will actually work with a licensed platform.
A platform with a proven model, the capital behind it and a team ready for full regulation.
European audiences, where an offshore licence shuts you out of traffic and partnerships.
An MGA licence opens up acquiring and bank accounts that offshore licence holders simply cannot get.
A critical gambling supply licence for developers and platforms selling into licensed operators.
What tier-one regulation gets you, and what the regulator asks for in return.
The MGA is recognised by banks, acquirers, content suppliers and advertising platforms
The licence runs for ten years, so there is no annual renewal - only the annual fee
A Maltese structure opens accounts and payment solutions that stay closed to offshore operators
The 5% gambling tax applies only to revenue from players based in Malta, so the base is minimal for international operations
A Maltese or EU entity with paid-up share capital of at least EUR 100,000 for Types 1 and 2
The MGA vets every shareholder, director and beneficial owner, including source of funds
Office, staff and decision-making in Malta, with infrastructure and the player database copy verified by inspection
Casino, betting, poker and lottery are each assessed separately - there is no single authorisation covering every product
An MGA licence is not a single permission covering the whole of the EU. Every member state licenses operators in its own right, and a Maltese licence does not stand in for a local one - here is what is open to you, what needs separate authorisation, and how blocking works in practice.
These markets regulate independently, and a Maltese licence gives you no right to operate there. Access is blocked at IP level:
Blocking also extends to FATF blacklisted countries and EU sanctions lists. These are revised regularly, so your settings need keeping up to date.
These accept a Maltese licence without any additional local authorisation:
The EU map keeps shifting - Finland moves from a state monopoly to a licensing regime in 2027. Before launch we check your target territories against their current status and what your payment partners will accept.
The MGA authorises you under Maltese law, but it does not automatically open up another EU member state
You are accountable for affiliate traffic - their geo-targeting is scrutinised the same way as your own
KYC has to establish residency, not just the country someone is connecting from
Serving a blocked market through circumvention invites action from the local regulator and questions from the MGA
Casino, betting, poker and bingo are each assessed separately, and adding a product means going back for approval
Malta's shield against foreign judgments is being challenged before the CJEU, so refund claims remain possible in blocked markets
EU regulation moves country by country. Before launch we verify the current status of your target markets, what local regulators require, and how your payment partners are set up.
A licence gives you the right to operate, but it does not open a bank account. That said, the MGA carries more weight with banks and acquirers than anything else on the market: an EU-domiciled Maltese company holding a tier-one licence gets through where offshore operators are turned away at first screening.
A Maltese company can open accounts with local and European banks, not just EMIs. The licence is verifiable through the public MGA register, so your status is confirmed with the regulator directly.
Card processing under an MGA licence comes on terms offshore operators never see: lower rolling reserves, a wider choice of PSPs, European local payment methods and direct contracts with the larger providers.
Banks and providers look well beyond the licence itself: ownership structure, source of capital, target territories and the quality of your AML procedures all get examined. We build the file alongside the MGA application so no time is lost once the licence is granted.
We assess your verticals, target markets and provider requirements before the application starts. We cannot guarantee an account will be opened - that decision sits with the bank or provider.
Six to twelve months. The application is assessed in four stages: fit and proper on the owners, the business plan, the operational and technical review, and finally the systems audit. It moves faster when the share capital is already paid up and your key function holders are lined up in advance.
We look at your verticals, target markets, ownership structure and capital. Malta is not right for everyone - if we can see the project will not clear on capital or on territories, we say so upfront, before you pay anything.
Fit and proper covers every shareholder, director and beneficial owner, source of funds included. Timing here is down to you - we send the full list straight away and point you to where each document comes from.
We incorporate the Maltese company, pay up the share capital, and source and approve your key function holders and MLRO. Each of them is individually authorised by the MGA.
We file through the MGA portal and pay the application fee. The regulator works through the three-year business plan, your operational policies, AML procedures and technical documentation. We handle their queries ourselves.
Once approved, you deploy the infrastructure and go live. Within 90 days an independent auditor from the MGA-approved list carries out the systems audit, after which the full 10-year licence is issued.
All we need from you is the owner documentation and a decision on the capital. Everything else is on us.
The same person runs your project start to finish, so you are never explaining it twice
Usually within 30 minutes during working hours
MGA correspondence and queries are handled on our side, not forwarded to you
Annual fee, compliance contribution, and the monthly and half-yearly MGA reporting
Timelines reflect our own casework. We prepare and file everything, but granting or refusing the licence is the regulator's decision.
Malta buys you the highest level of trust available, but it is also the most demanding option on the market in terms of capital, timelines and substance. Below are the honest limitations, and the jurisdictions that work around them.
The EUR 5,000 application fee and EUR 25,000 annual fee are only the visible part. Add paid-up capital from EUR 100,000, the compliance contribution and the cost of running an office in Malta, and a first-year budget of over EUR 200,000 is easy to reach.
An MGA licence does not cover the whole EU: Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland all require local authorisation. The US, UK and Australia are closed outright. If that is where your traffic comes from, paying for Malta buys you nothing.
A realistic timeline is six to twelve months, and that is before banking is factored in. If the product is ready and you need to be live in weeks, Malta will not get you there.
You need an office, staff and genuine decision-making in Malta, hosting infrastructure and a copy of the player database held on the island. On top of that, key function holders individually authorised by the MGA and fit and proper checks on every beneficial owner.
The fastest and cheapest route into licensed status. No GGR tax, no capital requirement, no local office or resident director needed. Operators take it early on, when the model still needs proving against real traffic.
A North American jurisdiction with a single licence covering every vertical. Providers read it differently to a classic offshore licence, and it takes weeks rather than months. A common choice for crypto-facing projects.
A young regulator with a solid reputation and good access to banks and providers. Chosen when you want something above offshore standing, but without Malta's capital demands and timelines. Works for both B2C and B2B.
A direct regulator licence with genuine market recognition and no capital requirement. Every vertical under one authorisation, and crypto is permitted. The middle ground between offshore and Malta on both price and standing.
Malta is not the right fit for every project. Sometimes the honest answer is to start elsewhere and come back to it later.
Real cases from our practice. Client names and results are published with their consent.
Nevis The client arrived with the decision already made: Malta, and we will talk about budget later. We went through it line by line - EUR 100,000 in capital tied up, an office and staff on the island, a year until the licence lands. The project was trading, but not at volumes that would justify it.
What we did: We put Nevis forward as an interim step. Standing above offshore, banks and providers read it fine, and no capital gets locked up. We agreed to revisit Malta once they hit their target revenue. The beneficial owner file stays ready in the meantime.
I was annoyed at first, to be honest. I turn up with the money and I am told I do not need it. Then we ran the numbers together and it landed: I would have spent a year just waiting and paying. Nevis took us six weeks and we are trading. We will come back to Malta, but knowing why this time.
Anjouan The request was for Malta because a traffic partner had said they would not sign anything else. Except the project had not gone live yet - there was a platform, some content supplier agreements and a first-year projection. We walked through the fees: EUR 30,000 to the regulator before launch, capital not included.
What we did: We said it plainly - paying that kind of money for an unproven model is premature. We went with Anjouan: quick, no capital requirement, no local office. The partner had the situation explained to them and agreed to start. In a year we will look at the numbers and decide whether Malta is needed at all.
Three firms had already sold me on Malta and not one of them asked whether I had launched. Here the first question was what my revenue looked like. There was no revenue. We took Anjouan, went live, and now we are counting. If it goes the way we expect, we will be back for a proper licence in a year.
Nevis The client came from an adjacent business, new to the sector and had never held a licence. He wanted Malta straight away. Money was not the problem: the MGA looks at the applicant's and the team's experience, and there was nothing to show - no operating history, nobody with a background in the field. A refusal, with the fee gone, was a real risk.
What we did: We explained that a first licence makes more sense somewhere that takes a softer view on experience. We went with Nevis. While we were at it, we set up internal procedures and reporting so that in two or three years it adds up to the operating history a Malta application needs. They are trading now and the record is building.
I was sure it came down to budget. Turns out it does not - they look at who you are and what you have already done. In this sector I had nothing behind me. Looking back, if we had filed in Malta we would most likely have been refused and lost the money.
If your question is not covered here, send us a request and we will go through your situation directly.
Book a consultationSix to twelve months. The regulator works through fit and proper on the owners, the three-year business plan, your operational policies and the technical side, in that order. Six months is achievable where the ownership structure is simple, the capital is already paid up and key function holders are lined up in advance. It runs longer with several verticals in play, or where the MGA comes back with source of funds queries.
No. Gambling is regulated at national level and there is no such thing as a single European licence. Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Czechia, Romania, Greece and Switzerland all require local authorisation, and a Maltese licence does not substitute for it. Austria, Ireland, Cyprus and Finland accept it without anything further. Target markets need checking before you file, not after.
The statutory fees are only part of it. EUR 5,000 to apply, one-off and non-refundable, then an annual licence fee of EUR 25,000 for Types 1, 2 and 3, or EUR 10,000 for Type 4. On top of that: paid-up capital from EUR 100,000 for Types 1 and 2 and EUR 40,000 for Types 3 and 4, a monthly compliance contribution based on gambling revenue, the cost of an office and staff in Malta, and the independent systems audit. A realistic first-year budget is several times the regulator's fees.
Yes. The applicant must be a Maltese or EU entity with its share capital paid up. Incorporation alone is not enough: the regulator expects genuine substance - an office, staff and real decision-making in Malta, hosting infrastructure and a copy of the player database held on the island. Compliance is verified by inspection, not by declaration.
Any market where you hold no local authorisation. The US, UK and Australia are closed outright. Within the EU, any member state that licenses independently has to be blocked unless you hold its licence. Separately, FATF blacklisted jurisdictions and EU sanctions lists are blocked as well - these are revised regularly, so your settings need updating.
Fit and proper applies to every shareholder, director and ultimate beneficial owner. The MGA assesses business reputation, the absence of criminal records or regulatory findings, financial standing, source of funds and source of wealth. Key function holders and the MLRO are vetted separately - each files a personal declaration and is individually authorised by the MGA.
No. The MGA approves each vertical on its own merits: casino, betting, poker, lottery and live tables are treated as separate lines within the application. Adding a new product after the licence is granted means going back to the regulator for approval. This is a fundamental difference from offshore regimes, where a single authorisation covers everything.
The annual licence fee, a monthly compliance contribution based on gambling revenue, and 5% gambling tax on revenue from player located in Malta. Reporting: monthly gambling tax and player funds returns, half-yearly reports, and the auditor's management letter within nine months of the financial year end. A systems audit by an MGA-approved auditor is required within 90 days of going live. player funds must be held separately from operating funds.
Yes, if you supply licensed operators. Platform developers, content providers and technical suppliers fall under a separate critical gambling supply licence, with minimum paid-up capital of EUR 40,000. Vetting of owners and key function holders is the same as for operators, though the operational burden is lighter.
No. We build the structure, assemble the file, submit the application and handle correspondence with the regulator, but the decision is the MGA's. The application fee is non-refundable, so we give you an honest read on your chances before you pay anything: if the project will not clear on capital, target markets or the applicant's track record in the sector, we say so and put an alternative on the table. We do not guarantee a bank account either - that decision belongs to the bank or the provider.
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