🇲🇹Malta Gambling Licence: Requirements, Costs and Tax

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) charges a one-time application fee, a fixed annual licence fee and, for B2C licensees, a monthly compliance contribution on gaming revenue.

• Application fee: €5,000, one-time and non-refundable, for any gaming licence.
• B2C gaming service licence: fixed annual fee €25,000 (€10,000 for operators offering only Type 4 games).
• B2B critical gaming supply licence: annual fee €25,000 where annual revenue is up to €5 million, €30,000 up to €10 million and €35,000 above that. Back-office supply: €3,000 up to €1 million revenue, €5,000 above.
• Compliance contribution (B2C): paid monthly on gaming revenue from all markets. Type 1 (casino) starts at 1.25 per cent of the first €3 million and tapers to 0.40 per cent, with a minimum of €15,000 and a maximum of €375,000 a year. Type 2 (betting) starts at 4 per cent, minimum €25,000, maximum €600,000. Qualifying start-ups get a 12-month moratorium.

Add minimum share capital, key function holders, a Malta company and system audit costs when budgeting.

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): MGA remote gaming services (B2C) fees and tax · MGA guidance note on licence fees and taxation · MGA game providers and back office (B2B) fees

Malta’s gaming tax applies only to gaming revenue generated from players physically present or habitually resident in Malta. Revenue from players elsewhere is outside its scope, which is why the effective rate for an international MGA licensee is low. The compliance contribution (above) is a separate charge on worldwide gaming revenue.

• Until 30 September 2026: 5 per cent of gaming revenue from Malta-based players, for all game types.
• From 1 October 2026 (Legal Notice 84 of 2026): 15 per cent for Type 1 gaming services (casino games and live casino) and 10 per cent for Types 2, 3 and 4 (betting, peer-to-peer poker, bingo), still on Malta-player revenue only. A 5 per cent rate remains for controlled gaming premises and licensed junkets. The gaming device levy is abolished.

Gaming tax is computed monthly and paid by the 20th of the following month. Corporate income tax applies to the company’s profits separately.

Live dealer studios and B2B suppliers. Studios, platforms and game providers hold a critical gaming supply licence and pay licence fees, not gaming tax. From 1 October 2026 a critical-supply licensee that films or broadcasts games from a studio in Malta pays a fixed studio broadcasting levy of €3,000 a year in advance (previously €500).

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): MGA and MTCA notice on the VAT and gaming tax changes, 2 April 2026 · Legal Notice 84 of 2026 (Gaming Tax Amendment Regulations) · MGA guidance note on licence fees and taxation

The MGA does not publish a target decision time. Its guidance note on the application process sets two 60-day windows instead: an application left incomplete for 60 days is closed, and after approval in principle the licensee has 60 days to complete technical set-up and the system audit before the licence is issued. Industry estimates for a complete B2C application run to three or four months, but treat them as estimates, not a regulator commitment.

The application is assessed in stages: fit-and-proper checks on the company and its owners, business plan and financial review, then compliance and technical review of the gaming system.

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): MGA guidance note on the application process

Any company incorporated in the EU or EEA may apply, but in practice a Malta company is used because the licence requires Maltese substance and the share-capital and reporting rules attach to the licensee. Corporate groups can hold a single group licence where the parent controls more than 90 per cent of the other entities.

• Minimum share capital (issued and paid up, maintained for the life of the licence): €100,000 for Type 1 or Type 2 games, €40,000 for Type 3 or Type 4, cumulative across types up to a cap of €240,000. A B2B critical gaming supply licence needs €40,000. Licensees must also keep a positive equity position.
• Fit and proper: the MGA assesses shareholders, ultimate beneficial owners and key persons, verifies source of wealth and source of funds, and consults other regulators.
• Key functions: directors and holders of key functions (chief executive, gaming operations, legal, data protection, compliance, technology, AML/CFT, internal audit) need prior MGA approval and a key function certificate.
• Documents: the System Documentation Checklist governs the file: business plan with forecasts, policies and procedures, game rules and terms, AML and responsible-gaming frameworks, and the technical documentation of the gaming and control system, all filed through the Licensee Portal.
• Technical review: after approval in principle the applicant has 60 days to stage the system and pass an external system audit by an MGA-approved provider.

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): MGA guidance note on the application process · MGA capital requirements policy · MGA remote gaming services (B2C)

An MGA licence runs for ten years and is renewable, but the obligations are continuous and audited.

• Monthly: gaming tax and compliance contribution are paid by the 20th of the following month, with a monthly player-funds report.
• Periodic reporting: half-yearly management accounts and audited annual financial statements within 180 days of year end, prepared under IFRS.
• Compliance audits: an independent audit by an MGA-approved firm in the first year after going live and thereafter per the MGA’s audit plan. A failed review can suspend or terminate the licence.
• Change control: changes to the gaming system, games, ownership, key function holders or anything in the application must be notified to, and where required approved by, the MGA in advance. New game verticals need prior approval.
• Player protection and AML: player funds segregated from operating funds, responsible-gaming tools, the Maltese unified self-exclusion register, and the AML obligations supervised jointly with the FIAU.

From 1 October 2026 the new gaming tax rates and the €3,000 studio broadcasting levy apply, and most online supplies become VAT-taxable with input VAT recovery.

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): MGA guidance note on licence fees and taxation · MGA notice on the October 2026 changes · MGA capital requirements policy (positive equity)

A Malta gaming company is normally a private limited company registered with the Malta Business Registry, capitalised at the MGA minimum for its licence type (€40,000 to €240,000) and given real substance in Malta: a registered office that is an actual place of business, a resident director, approved key function holders and local staff. The MGA inspects and treats a brass-plate presence as a red flag.

• Corporate tax: Malta’s headline corporate income tax is 35 per cent. Under the full-imputation system shareholders can claim a refund of up to six-sevenths of the tax on distributed trading profits, which is why effective rates are commonly quoted around 5 per cent. Model the refund mechanics with a Malta tax adviser rather than assuming the effective rate.
• Timeline: incorporation takes days, but opening a bank account, appointing key persons and completing the MGA application typically make the overall project a matter of months.
• Costs beyond fees: the system audit, key-person salaries or outsourced compliance and MLRO functions, and annual audited accounts.

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): MGA capital requirements policy · OECD Corporate Tax Statistics 2026 (Malta 35% with imputation refund)

• 1 October 2026 — Gaming tax on Malta-player revenue moves from a flat 5 per cent to 15 per cent for Type 1 and 10 per cent for Types 2 to 4 (Legal Notice 84 of 2026). The gaming device levy is abolished and the studio broadcasting levy rises to €3,000 a year.
• 1 October 2026 — The VAT exemption for gambling is narrowed (Legal Notice 86 of 2026), giving most online operators a right to recover input VAT.