The Malta Gaming Authority released its 2025 annual report detailing regulatory actions across the igaming and land-based sectors. The regulator issued 30 administrative penalties totaling €162,520 during the reporting period.
Administrative fines decreased by nearly 50% compared to the €306,250 recorded in 2024. The number of warnings issued also declined from 35 to 22, while license cancellations dropped from eight to two. Conversely, the MGA received 38 license applications and issued 19 new licenses, alongside eight renewals.
Revenue Distribution and Regulatory Strategy
Type 1 games, specifically online casino offerings, generated 78.9% of total B2C online licensee revenue, marking a nine percentage point increase. Sports betting, categorized as Type 2 gaming, accounted for 14.5% of the total, a decrease from 25.6% in the previous year. The MGA attributed this decline to shifts in international regulatory frameworks and new licensing approaches.
Pool betting, or Type 3 gaming, saw its share rise to 6.6% from 4.6%.
MGA CEO Charles Mizzi stated that the challenge for regulators is to regulate better rather than more. The authority refined its oversight methods in 2025 by strengthening the risk-based approach and utilizing data and technology. Regarding sports betting integrity, licensees submitted 280 suspicious betting alerts, while the regulator shared 192 alerts derived from its own investigations.
The MGA completed 15 full-scope compliance audits and processed 3,718 assistance requests. Additionally, the authority reviewed 109 URLs and identified 42 containing fraudulent references. In the land-based sector, the MGA conducted 7,903 inspections across casinos, bingo halls, and lottery outlets, issuing 2,043 permits for non-profit tombola.