Researched by Natalia K. in MaltaUpdated 2026-08-11 · Evidence checked 2026-07-08

MGA license check: verify a casino step by step

An MGA license check takes under a minute and rules out the single worst outcome in online gambling — depositing at a site that isn’t actually licensed. The Malta Gaming Authority publishes every licensee on an official register, and licensed casinos carry a clickable dynamic seal you can verify live. Here is exactly how to confirm a casino is genuinely licensed, using both the seal and the register. (Malta spells it licence; the search term is often license — both mean the same thing here.)

Where to find the licence number

Scroll to the casino’s footer: a legitimate MGA operator states its licence number and the licensed legal entity there, usually next to a seal graphic. The number follows a fixed format — if you can’t find one, treat that as a red flag in itself.

The licence-number format

MGA licence numbers look like this:

• MGA/B2C/XXX/YYYY — a business-to-consumer (player-facing) licence.
• MGA/CRP/XXX/YYYY — a corporate/related licence.

XXX is the licence number and YYYY the year. A “licence” that doesn’t match this pattern isn’t an MGA one.

Using the dynamic seal

1. Click the MGA seal in the footer — a real seal is interactive, not a static image.
2. It should open a verification page on the MGA’s authorisation domain (authorisation.mga.org.mt) showing the operator’s current authorisation status.
3. If the “seal” doesn’t click through to that domain, it’s decoration — verify on the register instead.

Cross-checking the official register

1. Go to the MGA licensee register.
2. Search the legal entity name or the licence number from the footer.
3. Confirm the entry is active and that the brand you’re on is listed under that licence.

Doing both — seal and register — is belt-and-braces, and it’s the check we run on every operator in our casino comparison before it’s listed. One caution before you treat a pass as a green light: an active MGA licence does not mean the brand takes players residing in Malta — the licence is usually held to serve players elsewhere, and acceptance is a separate commercial decision. That paradox has its own page.

Two worked examples from our own roster

The check is easiest to learn on records we already hold, so run it on the MGA licensees we list:

• 888casino — legal entity Virtual Digital Services Limited, licence MGA/CRP/121/2006-09. Search the entity name in the register; note that the entry also covers sister brands — a newer roster addition of ours, 777, sits under this same licence, which is exactly the “brand listed under that licence” detail step 3 exists for. The register entry we hold for 888casino is on its review.
• NetBet — legal entity NetBet Enterprises Ltd, licence MGA/CL1/272/2006. An older-format number that does not match the MGA/B2C/XXX/YYYY pattern below — legacy licences keep their original class codes, which is why the format check is a red flag, not a verdict. What that licence covers at NetBet is set out in the review’s safety section.

Red flags

• No licence number, or one that doesn’t fit MGA/B2C/XXX/YYYY.
• A seal that isn’t clickable or leads somewhere other than the MGA authorisation domain.
• A brand name that doesn’t appear under the stated entity on the register.
• Pressure to deposit before you can verify anything.

If a site fails these, don’t deposit — and if gambling itself is becoming a problem, the responsible gambling resources (rgf.org.mt, Supportline 1777) are there regardless of any licence.

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