Researched by Natalia K. in MaltaUpdated 2026-10-15 · Evidence checked 2026-10-15

Online gambling as a Malta resident: what the law, the age rules and the tax say

Online gambling is lawful in Malta when the operator holds a licence for it: the Gaming Act and its regulations forbid anyone to provide a gaming service “to any person in Malta” without one, set the age floor at 18, and — since 1 October 2026 — charge the operator, not the player, 15% of casino-game revenue from players living in Malta. Malta’s Income Tax Act says nothing about gambling winnings either way. Below is what each text says, quoted, and where it stops.

This page explains what the published texts say. It is not legal advice; for a decision that depends on it, ask a lawyer who practises in Malta.

Who may offer online casino games to people in Malta

Only an operator with a licence. Regulation 3 of the Gaming Authorisations Regulations (S.L. 583.05) says: “No person shall provide or carry out a gaming service or provide a critical gaming supply from Malta or to any person in Malta, or through a Maltese legal entity, except when in possession of a valid licence”.

The Gaming Act (Cap. 583) attaches the consequences. Article 13 makes it an offence to perform an activity that needs authorisation “or to promote, aid, abet or otherwise facilitate such activity unless it is duly authorised”. The Third Schedule lists, as a criminal offence, providing a gaming service that requires a licence “without the necessary licence issued by the Authority or another competent authority in the European Union or the European Economic Area, or aiding, abetting or otherwise facilitating such a provision”. Article 23 sets the penalty: a fine of €10,000 to €500,000, imprisonment of up to five years, or both — and €20,000 to €1,000,000 or six months to six years for a repeat offender.

The Malta Gaming Authority spelled out the reach of article 13 in a notice of 3 October 2018: “Operating in and from Malta includes, amongst other things, offering games to persons in Malta”. The same notice says providers of ancillary services — it names “marketing affiliates, credit and financial institutions, payment services providers” among them — “are also prohibited from aiding, abetting or promoting games which are not duly authorised”.

What the texts say about players. The offences above are written around the person who provides, promotes or facilitates the service. We found no provision in the Act or in the regulations quoted here that makes it an offence for a player to use an unlicensed site. Article 56A, added in 2023, bars actions against a player “for the receipt of” a gaming service where the action would undermine the legality of a service provided under an MGA licence; it says nothing about unlicensed ones. The MGA’s own consumer advice is direct: it reminds players “not to utilise services provided by an entity unless they have ascertained that the entity in question is authorised to provide such services by the MGA”, and calls transactions with unlicensed entities “risky for consumers”.

Which casinos on this site hold an MGA licence

We list eight operators that accept Malta residents. Five hold an MGA licence: 888casino, 777, NetBet, Betway and bCasino. Three do not: BitStarz and Decode Casino are licensed in Curaçao, and BC.Game in Anjouan (Comoros). None of those three holds a licence from the MGA or from another EU or EEA authority — the two kinds of licence the Gaming Act’s Third Schedule names.

The MGA’s public list of unauthorised URLs includes www.bc.game, with a notice date of 20 December 2019. The Authority’s wording for every entry on that list is that it “has no connection” with the site and that any reference to an MGA licence on it “is false and misleading”.

What the difference changes for you is the complaint route. The MGA’s complaint form is for complaints “against MGA-licensed operators”. With the three operators licensed elsewhere, the Maltese route described below is not open to you; your route is the operator and the authority that licensed it.

Every review on this site names the licence of record and says how we checked it. To check a licence yourself, use our MGA licence check walkthrough; for why an MGA licence and accepting Malta residents are two separate facts, see the MGA paradox.

Age: 18 online, 25 at a casino door for citizens of Malta

The Gaming Act’s age floor is 18. Article 2 defines a minor as “a physical person under the age of eighteen years”, article 14 forbids offering a game reserved for adults to a minor, and the Player Protection Regulations require operators to show “controls, policies and procedures … to prevent gaming by minors”.

The 25 rule is narrower than it is often reported. It sits in a proviso to article 14 and covers land-based casinos operating under a government concession, which “shall not allow a citizen of Malta under the age of twenty-five years to make use of the casino’s gaming service”. It turns on citizenship, not residence, so a resident of Malta who is not a citizen meets the general 18 rule at the door. The Act sets no equivalent rule for online play.

Do you pay tax on gambling winnings in Malta?

Malta’s Income Tax Act (Cap. 123) contains no provision that names gambling, betting, casino or lottery winnings, and we found no guidance on them from the Malta Tax and Customs Administration. Article 4(1) lists what is taxed — business profits, employment income, dividends and interest, pensions, rents — and ends with a catch-all for “gains or profits not falling under any of the foregoing paragraphs”. The Act does not say whether occasional winnings fall under that line.

Articles elsewhere often state that recreational winnings are untaxed in Malta. We have not found that rule in a primary source, so we do not state it as fact. If gambling is a regular income for you, or a large win is involved, ask the MTCA or a tax adviser. The gaming tax in the next section is a separate thing: it is charged to the operator.

The gaming tax that changed on 1 October 2026

Legal Notice 84 of 2026 rewrote the gaming tax from 1 October 2026. An operator offering a licensed gaming service to a player in Malta now pays:

Until 30 September 2026 the rate was a flat 5% of gaming revenue, plus a levy on gaming devices where one applied. For online play, what decides whether the tax applies “shall not depend on whether the player is physically present in Malta, but on whether the player is established, has his permanent address and, or usually resides in Malta”. The charge falls on “any person offering” the service; the regulations place no charge on the player. A separate notice, LN 86 of 2026, rewrote the VAT exemption for gambling from the same date.

We will report any change we see on our own Malta-resident accounts — to bonuses, limits or the games on offer — on the pages concerned, with the date we saw it.

If something goes wrong: complaints and protection

With an MGA licensee, the Player Protection Regulations set the route. Complain to the operator first: it must look into the complaint “immediately” and give you its result within ten days, extendable by ten more only if it tells you within the first ten days and says why. If you are not satisfied, you may refer the dispute to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body, and you can complain to the MGA’s Player Support Unit at any point. The MGA’s online form takes complaints in English or Maltese and recommends trying the operator’s support first.

Article 19 of the Gaming Act makes operators responsible for safeguarding player funds, and article 20 lets players who are owed funds by the same operator bring collective proceedings. Our pending withdrawal guide walks through the escalation step by step.

Self-exclusion and help

Online, self-exclusion is set site by site. The MGA describes it as blocking access “to the gaming website which the player has excluded with”, for a fixed or indefinite period; money held in the account “is not forfeited and can still be withdrawn”. Land-based venues — casinos, gaming parlours, bingo halls — share a unified self-barring system: you register through the MGA or the Responsible Gaming Foundation, for 6 months, 1 year, an indefinite period or with auto-renewal, with a valid ID card. The RGF states that an indefinite exclusion still needs a medical certificate, and that some of its services are unavailable while it moves into the MGA.

The RGF’s Supportline is 1777, or Appoġġ on 179 — both free, confidential, and you can stay anonymous. Our responsible gambling page covers deposit limits, time-outs and the bank-side blocks.

Frequently asked

Sources

All read on 15 October 2026.

• Gaming Act, Cap. 583 — articles 2, 13, 14, 18–23, 56A and the Third Schedule
• Gaming Authorisations Regulations, S.L. 583.05 — regulation 3 and the game types
• Gaming Player Protection Regulations, S.L. 583.08 — regulations 3 and 12–15
• Gaming Tax Regulations, S.L. 583.10, as amended by Legal Notice 84 of 2026; the June 2022 version for the previous rate
• Legal Notice 86 of 2026 — VAT on gambling
• Income Tax Act, Cap. 123 — article 4(1)
• MGA: warning to unauthorised operators and ancillary service providers, 3 October 2018, unauthorised URLs, lodge a complaint, safer gambling
• Responsible Gaming Foundation