MGA Licence Application: Process Stages, Timeline and Fees Explained

The Malta Gaming Authority runs one of the most structured licensing processes in the industry. Understanding its stages lets applicants prepare the right documents at the right time and avoid the back-and-forth that turns a four-month process into a year. This guide explains each stage, what the MGA looks for, how long it takes and what it costs.

Before filing: classification and pre-application

The applicant determines the licence type (B2C Gaming Service or B2B Critical Gaming Supply), the game types to be covered and the corporate vehicle. The MGA offers pre-application meetings for complex structures, which are worth using for group reorganisations, novel products or applicants with regulatory history elsewhere.

Stage 1: Fit-and-proper assessment

The Authority first reviews the people: shareholders of 10% or more, ultimate beneficial owners, directors and proposed key function holders. Personal declarations, certified identification, police conduct certificates and source-of-wealth evidence are examined, and the MGA conducts its own due diligence through international databases and other regulators. This stage sets the tone for the whole application.

Stage 2: Business planning review

The MGA assesses the business plan, financial projections, funding, target markets and marketing strategy for coherence and viability. Applicants are expected to show that the business is adequately capitalised for its first years and that the projections are consistent with the proposed products.

Stage 3: Operational and statutory requirements

Policies and procedures, incorporation documents, share capital evidence, terms and conditions, game rules, player-fund arrangements and the key function appointments are reviewed against the Gaming Act, regulations and directives. Gaps identified here result in requests for information that pause the clock.

Stage 4: System review and approval in principle

The technical submission is reviewed: system architecture, hosting and regulatory data location, certification of games and RNGs by an approved laboratory, security controls and change management. If all stages are satisfactory, the MGA issues an approval in principle, inviting the applicant to implement the live environment.

Stage 5: Pre-launch system audit

An MGA-approved auditor verifies that the live environment matches the submitted documentation. On a successful audit the licence is issued and the operator may go live. A compliance audit follows within the first year, and system audits recur on request or after material changes.

Timeline

A complete, well-prepared application typically reaches approval in principle in four to six months, with the system audit adding several weeks depending on the applicant’s readiness. The longest delays come from incomplete fit-and-proper files, inconsistent business plans and technical builds that are not finished when the application is filed.

Fees

Applicants pay a non-refundable application fee of 5,000 euros. B2C licensees pay an annual licence fee of 25,000 euros (10,000 for Type 4 only) and a compliance contribution calculated on gaming revenue: for Type 1 games the rate starts at 1.25% and decreases in bands to 0.4%, subject to an annual minimum of 15,000 and maximum of 375,000 euros; other game types have their own rates and caps. B2B licensees pay annual fees banded by revenue and no compliance contribution. Key function certificates and approvals carry small separate fees.

After the licence is issued

Licences run for ten years. Licensees submit audited financial statements, monthly player-fund reports, periodic compliance returns, incident notifications and change requests for new games, systems, key persons or ownership.

Our licensing practice manages MGA applications from pre-application to system audit. For the full requirements list, see Malta gaming licence requirements.