In 2025, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) levied 30 administrative sanctions valued at a total of €162,520, a reduction of almost 50% compared to the €306,250 in penalties imposed in 2024, as reported in its most recent annual report.
Also, enforcement actions decreased as 22 warnings were issued as opposed to 35 from the previous year, with cases of license revocations falling from eight to two. At the same time, license applications rose from 28 to 38 as there were 19 new licenses issued and eight renewals out of ten applications.
MGA CEO Charles Mizzi said:
The challenge facing regulators today is not to regulate more, but to regulate better. Throughout 2025, we refined the way we regulate – strengthening our risk-based approach to oversight, improving engagement, streamlining processes and making better use of data and technology to focus our efforts where they matter most. That is how we strengthen confidence in the Maltese licence, safeguard players and support the long-term sustainability of Malta’s gaming sector.
Type 1 online casino games made for 78.9% of B2C online gaming revenues registered in 2025, up by nine points from the previous year. Sports betting (Type 2) contributed 14.5%, down from 25.6 in 2024, which the MGA attributed to changes to international licensing frameworks and regulations. Revenue from Type 3 pool betting grew up to 6.6%, up from 4.6.
During that period, the Authority received 280 suspicious betting communications from its licensees and sent 192 betting alerts as a result of its investigation activities.
During the reporting years, the Authority completed 15 full compliance audits, dealt with 3718 requests for help and analyzed 109 sites, detecting 42 sites falsely representing MGA or its licensees.
For the land-based sector, the MGA performed a total of 7903 inspections of all casinos, Bingo Clubs, Lottery Points and any other gaming venues.
It also issued 2043 non-profit tombola permits, 22 non-profit lottery permits, and 118 certificates for the organization of commercial communication games.
