The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) disclosed that it imposed 30 administrative penalties amounting to €162,520 ($185,611) in 2025. This was accompanied by the issuance of 35 cease-and-desist letters and 22 warnings, as outlined in its Annual Report and audited Financial Statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.
During the year, the Authority suspended one gaming license and revoked two others. Additionally, one appeal was filed and is currently under review, while eight appeals from previous years were withdrawn.
CEO Charles Mizzi emphasized the importance of improving regulatory practices rather than increasing them, stating, “The challenge facing regulators today is not to regulate more, but to regulate better.” He noted that throughout 2025, the MGA enhanced its regulatory framework by adopting a more risk-based approach, fostering better engagement, streamlining procedures, and leveraging data and technology to focus on critical areas.
The Council approved 17 new gaming license applications but rejected two after the “Minded Letter” process revealed inaccuracies or misleading information in the submissions. Furthermore, 10 renewal applications were also reviewed and approved.
The report encompasses both Malta’s land-based and online gaming sectors, detailing the Authority’s regulatory actions and developments, along with an analysis of emerging trends and market dynamics expected to shape the industry in the future.
In terms of integrity, the MGA received 280 suspicious betting reports from licensees throughout 2025. Following enhanced risk-based filtering, it shared 192 alerts regarding suspicious betting activities with licensees and participated in 66 global investigations.
The Authority collaborated with enforcement agencies, sports governing bodies, and other regulatory authorities on 56 information requests and engaged in 85 data exchanges. It received 66 international collaboration requests from other regulators and sent out 12 such requests, primarily related to generic cooperation or background checks for authorization processes.
Additionally, the MGA provided 58 official responses regarding the regulatory standing of licensed operators to various stakeholders and worked with local regulatory bodies on 200 information requests.
Supervisory activities included conducting 15 comprehensive compliance audits and 109 thematic reviews focused on compliance, player protection, and sports betting integrity. The MGA addressed 3,718 assistance requests, including those carried over from 2024, and received 1,757 reports concerning player funds. It also performed 14 data extractions to ensure the protection of player funds.
The Authority examined 109 URLs to identify unauthorized links to unregulated gaming activities, discovering that 42 contained fraudulent references to the Authority or its licensees, which were subsequently added to its publicly accessible website list. The Commercial Communications Committee made six decisions regarding potential violations of the Gaming Commercial Communications Regulations.
Regarding AML/CFT oversight, the MGA initiated 21 compliance examinations, concluding the same number. It issued 30 closure letters to licensees to formally conclude examinations or remediation processes where findings were not deemed serious. Additionally, two letters were sent to licensees regarding potential AML/CFT non-compliance, requiring further clarification before these could be confirmed as breaches.
The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) imposed an administrative penalty and/or remediation measure totaling nearly €26,500 ($30,265.25). The MGA also conducted 29 interviews with potential Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) to evaluate their understanding of the Maltese AML/CFT legal framework.
Furthermore, the Authority conducted 7,903 inspections across gaming premises, including casinos and commercial establishments.