Malta Gaming Authority scales back plan to tighten foreign-licence regime
After industry pushback, the MGA has softened proposed changes to the Recognition Notice framework that lets firms operate from Malta under licences issued elsewhere.
The Malta Gaming Authority has pulled back from a tougher version of the rules governing companies that work out of Malta while holding a licence issued by another jurisdiction.
The framework in question, known as the Recognition Notice regime, allows such firms to operate from the island without an MGA licence of their own. A targeted consultation launched by the regulator on 21 April 2026 had proposed tighter checks at authorisation and more structured ongoing monitoring.
A Feedback Statement dated 26 October, obtained by NEXT.io, shows the MGA has dropped several of the original proposals following objections from industry. The regulator will no longer impose a standard template for legal opinions, instead specifying which confirmations those opinions must contain.
Notice holders will now only need to supply details of their ultimate beneficial owners rather than a full corporate structure chart. B2B suppliers have been exempted from many of the new obligations altogether.
Industry respondents argued the original proposals duplicated checks already carried out by their home regulators and asked the MGA not to require disclosure of commercially sensitive information, according to NEXT.io.
The retreat sits against Malta's own 2023 National Risk Assessment, which for the first time gave the Recognition Notice framework a rating of medium-high for money-laundering risk; the 2018 assessment had not rated it at all. The same exercise found the residual risk of remote gaming overall had fallen from high to medium. It was published in January 2024, and subject persons were told to reflect its findings in their own risk assessments.
In launching its April consultation, the regulator described the proposed changes as consistent both with the findings of that risk assessment and with the goals set out in the National AML/CFT Strategy covering 2024 to 2026.
Malta remains Europe's principal hub for both B2C operators and B2B suppliers, many of which rely on Recognition Notices rather than an MGA licence. NEXT.io reported that many Malta-based gambling businesses currently operate under Romanian licences, and that some industry sources regard the Recognition Notice regime as a loophole, particularly for B2B firms.
Under the existing rules, a Recognition Notice runs for one year and requires annual maintenance, with an application fee of €5,000 and a further €5,000 due each year in advance. Applicants need to show their licensing authority considers them in good standing and must obtain a certified legal opinion from a warranted professional; those seeking to serve consumers directly must also list the URLs through which they offer games.
Holding a Recognition Notice does not remove a company from Malta's tax net. Under Legal Notice 84 of 2026, in force since 1 October 2026, notice holders remain within the scope of the island's restructured gaming tax.
NEXT.io reported that the MGA has accepted some of the revised requirements may need changes to existing legislation, and noted that gaming legislation introduced the week before the Feedback Statement may be connected, given the timing.
The regulator has disclosed little publicly. A short notice issued on 28 October described the changes as adjustments made in response to consultation feedback, aimed at producing rules that notice holders can apply in practice and that scale with risk. Rather than releasing the Feedback Statement openly, the MGA limited distribution to notice holders and their representatives, and the document's contents only reached the public once NEXT.io obtained a copy.
The MGA has said further detail will follow on how the specific requirements will operate in practice.