How to know if a casino is regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority
Our complete guide to how to know if a casino is regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority.
The Malta Gaming Authority is one of the best-known regulatory bodies in online gaming in Europe.
Thanks to Malta’s early legislation in favour of online gaming back in 2000, the island nation has become a hub for the online gaming industry in Europe.
As such, regulation by the Malta Gaming Authority is seen as something of a seal of approval that can help give players greater confidence in the online casinos they visit.
Check out our article on the MGA for more on who the Malta Gaming Authority are and what they do.
Meanwhile, read on for details on how to know whether a casino is regulated by the MGA.
Maltese online casino licences
The Malta Gaming Authority offers four classes of licence. Online casinos need a class 2 licence, which covers online casino gaming and lotteries.
Any online casino that has a class 2 licence from the MGA has been deemed reputable enough to provide its online gaming services and products from its base in Malta.
Note that depending on where the online casino is operating, it may also need additional local licensing.
For example, an online casino catering to players in the UK would need to have a licence from the British Gambling Commission as well as from the MGA.
The Malta Gaming Authority Licensee Register
If an online casino is regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority, its operating company and URL will be registered on the MGA Licensee Register.
This is a searchable register of licensees available as an external site through the MGA’s website.
If you visit the MGA’s online licensee register, you can search for an online casino by Licensee name, URL, authorisation status and gaming service.
Possible statuses are: licensed, surrendered, cancelled, suspended, expired, suspended expired and temporarily non-operative. You’ll be wanting to check the online casino is licensed.
As for gaming service, you’ll be looking for B2C gaming service licences rather than B2B critical service licences.
Malta Gaming Authority digital seal of authorisation
The MGA also has a digital seal of authorisation which is shown on gaming portals themselves, helping to show if a casino is regulated by the MGA.
The seal indicates whether a licence is active, suspended or forfeited. Clicking on the seal of authorisation leads you directly to the MGA site so that users can verify the licensee’s full details, thus ensuring that the seal is valid and has not been tampered with.
Malta Gaming Authority enforcement action
The MGA also has a register of enforcement actions that it has taken. Here you can see if an online casino has been subject to any penalties or warnings from the authority.
The regulator intervenes when its rules on player protection or money laundering have been breached. It can suspend or even revoke operators’ licences.
Malta Gaming Authority complaints procedure
Finally, should you wish to lodge a complaint against an MGA-licensed casino, you can do so on its website using the customer complaint form.
The form asks players to complete details of the game they were playing, the time and date of the incident and the amount of money disputed.
