Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is the state regulator that licenses and supervises gambling operators in or from Malta under the Gaming Act, Chapter 583 of the Laws of Malta, in force since 1 August 2018. Irish players meet it mostly on online casino sites, where an MGA licence number sits in the footer. That licence is issued by Malta, not by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), and the difference matters when something goes wrong.
What an MGA Licence Covers
The MGA grants two main licence types: a gaming service licence for operators dealing with players, usually called B2C, and a critical gaming supply licence for B2B suppliers such as game studios. It can audit, suspend or revoke either.
An MGA-licensed operator must give players a complaints procedure and answer a complaint within ten days, extendable by a further ten if it tells the player why. If you are still unhappy after that, you can refer the case to the MGA’s Player Support Unit or another ADR entity, in English or Maltese.
What I check first is whether the licence number in the footer matches an entry on the MGA’s own register, because a logo copied onto a site proves nothing at all.
MGA Licence Versus a GRAI Licence
An MGA licence is a Maltese authorisation, and it does not carry the protections of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 that bind operators holding a licence from the GRAI.
The GRAI began licensing remote betting on 1 July 2026, and its licensees must meet Irish obligations, including the ban on accepting credit cards and the duty to pay out winnings. Online casino gaming is a later phase that needs its own commencement order, and the GRAI has said gaming applications will open across 2027 and 2028. Until Irish gaming licences take effect, a casino site serving Irish players runs on an overseas licence such as Malta’s, and a complaint against it goes to Malta rather than to the GRAI under Part 7 of the Act.
The MGA is a real regulator; it is simply not yours.
