Malta gaming licence: a guide for UK players
A Malta gaming licence is issued by the Malta Gaming Authority under the Gaming Act of 2018. It lets a company run remote gaming from Malta, but it does not by itself allow service to players in Great Britain. What the MGA licence covers comes first, then how its player rules work, how to check one on the public register and where a complaint goes.
Betway
LeoVegas
PlayOJO
Wildz
Rizk
What a Malta gaming licence covers
One licence covers a company’s remote gaming from Malta. Five dates explain the present set-up.
The Malta Gaming Authority, from LGA to MGA
- 2001
A single regulator
The Lotteries and Other Games Act 2001 sets up the Lotteries and Gaming Authority as the single public body for all gaming in Malta.
- April 2004
A remote gaming law
The Remote Gaming Regulations (L.N. 176 of 2004), made under the 2001 Act, begin to take effect on 20 April 2004, and Malta becomes the first EU member state with a comprehensive remote gaming law.
- December 2014
A new name
Act XLI of 2014 renames the Lotteries and Gaming Authority the Malta Gaming Authority, which presents its new name and brand on 14 January 2015.
- 1 August 2018
The Gaming Act
The Gaming Act (Cap. 583), the law behind today’s licences, comes into force.
- 1 January 2019
Land-based rules
Gaming devices, commercial tombolas and premises fall under the same Act.
Gaming service and supply licences
The authorisation regulations name two main licences. A Gaming Service licence is the business-to-consumer (B2C) licence to offer a gaming service to players. A Critical Gaming Supply licence is the business-to-business (B2B) licence for a company that supplies something critical to an operator. A casino brand a player can open is run under the first kind.
A B2C licence is then approved by game type. Type 1 covers casino games played against the house with a random generator, Type 2 fixed-odds betting, Type 3 games not played against the house such as peer-to-peer poker and bingo, and Type 4 controlled skill games. A seal prints the types a licence holds. The MGA adds an extra type to the same licence number through its Licensee Portal.
| Licence | Class | What it is for | Where a player meets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaming Service licence | B2C | Offering or carrying out a gaming service to players | The casino’s terms, footer and MGA seal |
| Critical Gaming Supply licence | B2B | Providing or carrying out a critical gaming supply to a licensee | The approved supplier list on an operator’s seal |
Source: the First Schedule of the Gaming Authorisations Regulations (S.L. 583.05) and the MGA’s FAQ.
How MGA licensing works
The Gaming Authorisations Regulations and the MGA’s Directive 3 of 2018 set the terms. For a player, the useful points are how long a licence lasts, which websites it covers and what happens when a company changes hands.
Licence term, approved domains and changes
Each seal lists the licensee’s approved sites under Website Urls, so one licence can cover several casino websites. The Skill On Net Limited seal lists about 50 addresses and the Zecure Gaming Limited seal two.
A licensee must tell the MGA within three working days of a change in qualifying shareholding and send documents within 30 days. Some changes need prior written approval, including changes to the player funds accounts and a new channel of delivery. The directive sets no separate approval step for each new domain.
Operators licensed in another EU or EEA state can instead rely on a recognition notice, which has the same effect as an MGA authorisation and must be maintained yearly.
Casino brands on the MGA register
| Brand | MGA licensee | Licence number | Status | Domain on URL Checker | Game types | UK account company | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Betway | Betway Limited | MGA/CRP/130/2006 | Licensed | http://www.betway.com | 1 and 2 | Betway Limited | 27 October 2026 |
| LeoVegas | LeoVegas Gaming plc | MGA/CRP/237/2013 | Licensed | https://www.leovegas.com | 1, 2 and 3 | LeoVegas Gaming PLC | 27 October 2026 |
| PlayOJO | Skill On Net Limited | MGA/CRP/171/2009 | Licensed | http://www.playojo.com | 1 | Skill On Net Limited | 27 October 2026 |
| Wildz | Granturo Malta Ltd | MGA/B2C/1079/2025 | Licensed | https://www.wildz.com | 1 and 2 | None found | 27 October 2026 |
| Rizk | Zecure Gaming Limited (group holder NetPlay Malta Ltd) | MGA/CRP/1117/2025-02 | Licensed | http://www.rizk.com | 1, 2 and 3 | Zecure Gaming Limited (licence surrendered) | 27 October 2026 |
Source: the MGA’s dynamic seals and URL Checker and the Gambling Commission’s public register. B2C Gaming Service licence class for every row. Complete records first, then Rizk, whose record has a gap, alphabetical inside each group, not a ranking.
Betway
Lobby on betway.com LeoVegas
Home page on leovegas.com PlayOJO
Home page on playojo.com Wildz
Home page on wildz.com The licence was issued in September 2025.
Rizk
Home page on rizk.com
Player protection under an MGA licence
Directive 2 of 2018 and the Gaming Player Protection Regulations (S.L. 583.08) bind the licensee.
How player funds are held
Player funds must sit in an MGA-approved credit, financial or payment institution, and the MGA may require trusts, bank guarantees or reserve accounts. The directive treats the money as the separate patrimony of the players. The player funds account must hold at least 90% of what is owed to players. A licensee’s creditors have no claim on player funds, and if funds were mixed with the licensee’s own money, players’ claims rank as privileged.
Segregation is not insurance, and the player funds rules set up no MGA compensation scheme.
Deposit limits and MGA self-exclusion rules
| Tool | What the rules say |
|---|---|
| Deposit or wagering limit | Mandatory. Online licensees ask before the first deposit whether the player wants limits. A stricter limit applies immediately, a looser one after 24 hours. |
| Reality check | A timed pop-up for random-generator games, showing time, amount wagered and wins or losses. |
| Self-exclusion | Definite or indefinite, one click from the responsible gaming page. A player excluded for signs of problem gambling is excluded across all brands the B2C licensee operates. |
| Lifting an exclusion | An indefinite exclusion ends no sooner than seven days after the request, a definite one after 24 hours. |
| Withdrawals | Paid within five working days if practicable, after identity and security checks. Where that is not practicable, a withdrawal limit may never be below €250 a month. |
Source: the Player Protection Directive (Directive 2 of 2018), the MGA’s FAQ and its self-barring page.
Funds on the account are not forfeited during a self-exclusion. “If practicable” makes the five-day rule a standard, not a promised payout time.
How to check an MGA licence on the official register
The MGA register can be searched by licensee name, authorisation status, URL or gaming service. Match the company, the licence number and the web address together. A seal is the casino’s own link to the same record.
The licensee register and URL checker
- Read the casino’s termsNote the company name and MGA licence number in the terms or footer.Step 1
- Search the licensee registerType the company name into the MGA Licensee Register and pick the autocomplete option before Search.Step 2
- Run the URL CheckerPaste the full address, with scheme and www, into the URL Checker.Step 3
- Open the sealA genuine seal is served from authorisation.mga.org.mt and prints licensee, number, status and Website Urls.Step 4
A worked example: PlayOJO
Searched on 27 October 2026, the Licensee Register returned Skill On Net Limited, authorisation number MGA/CRP/171/2009, Type 1. The URL Checker returned http://www.playojo.com under the same company, and the seal shows Licensed. PlayOJO’s terms print the number with “/01” added. Company, base number and domain agree, so this is a formatting difference, not a mismatch.
When the company and domain do not match
Three patterns show why a logo is not enough. None proves wrongdoing.
- A name search can return the group licence holder. Searching Zecure Gaming Limited gave NetPlay Malta Ltd, while the seal shows the sub-licence MGA/CRP/1117/2025-02.
- One domain can appear under more than one company. The URL Checker lists a well-known casino domain under three.
- A domain can sit under a company other than the brand’s own, or a seal can show only “Approved” with no licence table.
The MGA also keeps an Unauthorised URLs list, saying any claim of its licence on those domains is false and misleading. If company, number and address still do not agree, the MGA’s complaint form is the way to ask it.
Complaints, ADR and the MGA
The MGA recommends resolving a dispute with the operator before complaining to it. The two routes below do different jobs and can run side by side.
Operator first, then ADR
The dispute: each step ends in a decision
- The casinoThe operator informs the complainant of the result within ten days of receiving the complaint, extendable by ten.10 days, plus up to 10 more
- An ADR body named in the termsThe B2C licensee must offer dispute resolution free of charge, by a body established in the EU or EEA. Its adjudication binds the operator and the player. For claims too large for Malta’s Small Claims Tribunal the operator may offer non-binding mediation instead, and must say so. The operator has 20 days to comply with a decision in the player’s favour.Binding, with one exception
The ADR body named on all five seals above is eCOGRA.
The MGA’s player support channel
A player can complain to the Player Support Unit if they believe any aspect of the gaming service is unlawful, or not safe, fair or transparent, and operators must say so. The Unit examines the complaint independently of any ADR case. It is a regulatory channel, not the route for a contract dispute about a payout. The MGA reviews its form in English or Maltese.
Malta-licensed casinos and UK players
The Gambling Commission’s own example of a business that still needs its licence is one based in Malta.
That holds whenever its betting site or app can be played in England, Scotland or Wales, as the Commission’s remote licence page sets out. Northern Ireland has its own law.
| Brand | MGA licensee | Gambling Commission record |
|---|---|---|
| Betway | Betway Limited | Account 39372, Betway Limited, Remote Casino licence Active; betway.com Active |
| LeoVegas | LeoVegas Gaming plc | Account 39198, LeoVegas Gaming PLC, Remote Casino licence Active; leovegas.co.uk Active |
| PlayOJO | Skill On Net Limited | Account 39326, Skill On Net Limited, Remote Casino licence Active; www.playojo.co.uk Active |
| Wildz | Granturo Malta Ltd | No account found under Wildz or Granturo |
| Rizk | Zecure Gaming Limited (group holder NetPlay Malta Ltd) | Account 56427, Zecure Gaming Limited, Remote Casino licence Surrendered on 22 Jun 2026; www.rizk.com Inactive |
Source: the Gambling Commission public register. For how Malta compares with the other licences, see the comparison of online gambling licences.
Three brands hold an active Gambling Commission licence under the same company as their MGA licence. Rizk’s was surrendered on 22 June 2026, and Wildz has no record.
How Malta compares with other licences
Malta’s approach rests on public tools and written directives. The Curaçao gaming licence, Gibraltar gaming licence and Anjouan gaming licence pages explain the others in the same terms, and the pairwise comparisons sit on the homepage.
A URL Checker tests a single web address against the register. Gibraltar lists its licensees with one PDF each, and Curaçao prints a certificate per licensed domain.
A licence runs for ten years. Curaçao grants its licences for an indefinite term unless its gaming ordinance provides otherwise.
One directive sets the limits, reality checks, one-click self-exclusion and ring-fenced funds, and ADR is free to the player and binding on both sides, except on claims too large for Malta’s Small Claims Tribunal.
The operator answers a complaint first, and none of the four regulators settles a UK player’s dispute itself.
None replaces a Gambling Commission licence for customers in Great Britain.
Source: the Gaming Act and its regulations, the MGA’s directives and registers, and Curaçao’s gaming ordinance.
The limits of an MGA licence
- It does not authorise serving consumers in Great Britain. That needs its own Gambling Commission operating licence.
- The player funds rules are a ring-fence and a ranking of claims, not insurance, and they set up no compensation scheme.
- The Player Support Unit works as a compliance function, so a contract dispute goes to the ADR body named by the operator.
- The withdrawal rule says “if practicable” and allows identity and security checks first.
- Only a deposit or wagering limit is required. Loss and session limits are optional, and time-outs longer than 24 hours are encouraged rather than mandatory.
- A logo alone proves nothing. The seal must be served from authorisation.mga.org.mt, and the MGA lists sites that make false claims.
Frequently asked questions
Is an MGA licence valid in the UK?
No. Serving customers in Great Britain takes a Gambling Commission licence, which an MGA licence does not replace. To see whether an MGA brand holds one, search the Commission’s public register by trading or domain name and check that the address you use is listed as Active on that account. Northern Ireland has separate law.
Can several casino websites run on one MGA licence?
Yes. The licence belongs to the company, and every website it covers must appear among the approved addresses on its seal, so compare the address in your browser with that list. The licence runs for ten years when first granted or renewed, unless the regulations set a shorter term.
How do I find a casino in the MGA register?
Type the company name into the Licensee Register and pick the autocomplete suggestion before pressing Search. Or paste the full address, scheme and www included, into the URL Checker. Then compare the company and licence number with the casino’s terms.
Does the MGA settle individual complaints?
No. Contractual disputes go to the independent ADR body named in the operator’s terms, and its adjudication binds the operator and the player, except that for claims too large for Malta’s Small Claims Tribunal the operator may offer non-binding mediation instead. The MGA’s Player Support Unit looks at possible rule breaches as a compliance function, separately from any ADR case, and accepts a report from anyone who thinks a licensee’s service is unlawful or unsafe.
Are player funds protected if a casino closes?
Player funds are ring-fenced as the players’ own money, and a licensee’s creditors have no claim on them. If funds were mixed with other money, players’ claims rank as privileged. That is a legal priority, not insurance, and the rules read name no compensation scheme.
Does an MGA logo prove a casino is licensed?
No. A logo can be copied. A genuine seal opens from an address starting with https://authorisation.mga.org.mt and names the company, licence number and approved web addresses. The MGA also publishes a list of web addresses that make false claims of an MGA licence.
Responsible gambling and support
Gambling is for over-18s. If it is harming you, ring GamCare’s National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, free and open 24 hours a day by phone, live chat or WhatsApp. GAMSTOP offers free self-exclusion from UK-licensed gambling sites, and an MGA licence does not replace it. Other services are set out in our gambling support guide.