Malta softens audit plan for foreign-licensed gaming companies

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has backed away from a significant part of its plan to tighten oversight of betting companies that operate under foreign licences. Following objections from the industry, many of the proposals have been shelved. The regulator nonetheless says it wants to strengthen supervision, though this may require the Maltese government to amend the legislation.

The Recognition Notification system allows Malta-based companies to operate under licences issued in European Union and European Economic Area countries, or in other jurisdictions with similar anti-money laundering standards. This means companies can work without having to obtain a separate MGA licence. The main criticism focuses on the weak level of supervision in some of the countries where these companies obtained their licences, and on the fact that these companies did not report this to the MGA.

Malta was placed on the Financial Action Task Force grey list in 2021 and was removed a year later. However, efforts to repair the country's international image are ongoing. In its consultation launched in April, the MGA had proposed more corporate disclosures, more detailed financial information requests, and a standard legal opinion requirement for foreign licence applications. The regulator also acknowledged that its current powers are not sufficient to demand certain information.

In its final approach, the MGA plans to clearly separate B2B and B2C operators and to carry out risk-based, targeted information gathering. The regulator will begin collecting information this year and will first focus on B2C recognition notification holders in the 2025 reporting period. Even so, the scope of the reforms appears to have narrowed considerably.