The Malta Gaming Authority, formerly known as the Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA) is the gaming control board of Malta. Malta was one of the first countries in the European Union to introduce regulations concerning remote gambling and is the preferred jurisdiction by many online casino sites as it provides a safe and secure environment for their players. Fairness and data protection are also assured under the Malta Gaming Authority.
To better suit the online operator’s different needs depending on their gaming activities, there are various categories related to the Malta licenses that are available:
These are divided up into four different classes, in terms of licenses for online gambling.
Class 1 – This remote gaming license has to be obtained by all online casinos without fail, and is required by any operator that provides traditional online games and/or lotteries.
Class 2 – This license is given to operators who manage sports betting types of wagers that offer fixed-odds such as an online bookmaker or sports betting enterprise. Having a Class 2 license is essential for them to operate under the jurisdiction of Malta.
Class 3 – This is a remote gaming license that is required to operate under the Malta Gambling Authority and has to be obtained by any peer-to-peer gambling environment such as online poker, bingo, betting exchanges, and lotteries for them to be able to operate.
Class 4 – This license is a remote gaming license, and is a business to business license that allows gaming operators to be able to host products that are provided by another software vendor.
One needs to keep in mind that these licenses are not necessarily valid when providing services to customers that fall outside of the European Union.