Malta (MGA) Gaming License

Cost boundary

The remote B2C application fee is EUR 5,000. The fixed annual B2C license fee is EUR 25,000, or EUR 10,000 for an operator approved solely for Type 4, plus a revenue-based compliance contribution. The published annual contribution bands run from EUR 15,000 to EUR 375,000 for Type 1, EUR 25,000 to EUR 600,000 for Type 2, EUR 25,000 to EUR 500,000 for Type 3, and EUR 5,000 to EUR 500,000 for Type 4, subject to the regulations and start-up rules. Minimum issued paid-up share capital is EUR 100,000 for Type 1 or 2 and EUR 40,000 for Type 3, Type 4, or B2B, cumulative up to EUR 240,000 for multiple B2C types. Capital remains in the company and is not a fee. The MGA does not publish one all-in launch budget.

Process timing

The MGA does not publish one standard end-to-end approval time. Its process covers completeness, ownership and personal probity, source of wealth and funding, the business plan, policies and procedures, technical documentation, and a system audit before go-live. Published 60-day periods for curing a rejected incomplete application and completing technical implementation after an invitation are applicant deadlines, not a regulator service level. File quality, ownership complexity, funding evidence, key-person review, technical readiness, and audit findings determine the actual schedule.

Tax / revenue model

B2C licensees pay gaming tax at 5 percent of gaming revenue generated from players physically located in Malta. That tax is separate from the fixed annual license fee and compliance contribution. Malta Tax and Customs Administration publishes a 35 percent standard corporate income tax rate at company level. Shareholder refunds can apply after distribution in qualifying circumstances, but the result depends on the income, ownership, residence, distribution, and tax facts. A universal 5 percent effective corporate rate is not a defensible operator assumption.

Applicant / local requirements

An entity established in the EU or EEA may apply if it meets the capital and financial-reporting requirements. The application must identify the ownership, funding, governance, key functions, operational setup, and technical architecture, and the licensee must maintain a sufficient connection with Malta for the MGA to supervise it. Public MGA material does not support one universal formula requiring a Malta-incorporated company, a fixed local headcount, or every server to sit in Malta. Technical components outside Malta, including third-country arrangements, require analysis under the MGA's technical-infrastructure rules rather than a blanket location claim.

Term / continuation

A B2C or B2B license is normally issued for ten years. Renewal requires an application and the applicable EUR 5,000 application fee, while annual license fees and any B2C compliance contribution continue during the license term. After issue, a remote licensee has 90 days to go live; if it cannot, it must use the voluntary-suspension route and may receive no more than a nine-month extension. A ten-year term is not permission to stop meeting ongoing financial, reporting, key-function, player-protection, technical, and audit obligations.

The MGA's Capital Requirements Policy took effect on July 2, 2025, adding an ongoing positive-equity requirement and a process for restoring negative equity alongside the existing nominal share-capital rules. The policy includes transitional arrangements and now forms part of the financial-soundness review. Fee, contribution, capital, and technical claims on this page were rechecked against MGA material on July 12, 2026.