MGA licence

At a glance

What the licence actually enforces

Malta built the rulebook that most of European online gambling runs on. A B2C licensee must segregate customer balances, publish an ADR route, verify identity within a set period, publish clear bonus terms and report suspicious activity. The authority audits systems, not just paperwork, and suspends licences when operators stop paying. Because Malta is in the European Union, an MGA operator can serve players in countries that do not run their own licence and, in several that do, uses the Maltese licence as the second layer beneath the local one.

What it means for you

A Malta-licensed site will pay a legitimate withdrawal, will ask for documents once and will have somewhere to complain. Verification is lighter than in Britain, deposits are not policed by affordability checks, and bonuses are larger. What you do not get is a regulator that sides with players over odds or limits: the MGA handles disputes about money and terms, not about a price or a closed account.

How to check a site holds it

Every licensee must show a dynamic seal that links to the MGA licence page. Click it; a static image or a link to the wrong company is the sign of a copied logo. The register lists the company, the licence number and the URLs it covers.

Weak points

Complaints can take months. Segregation protects balances in normal operation, but Malta has seen licensees fail with player money outstanding. And a licence in Malta does not make a site legal in a country that requires its own licence: Italy, France, Germany and Spain, among others, block MGA-only operators.