Malta Gaming Authority Identifies Betting Integrity Gaps And Good Practice

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has published a sports betting integrity review explaining why low reporting figures do not always indicate weak controls, while identifying gaps in monitoring and escalation.

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Good To Know

• Low report numbers sometimes reflected strict betting limits and restricted markets.
• Operators must report relevant suspicious activity even when no financial harm occurs.
• External integrity alerts should support internal monitoring, rather than determine whether checks begin.

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For businesses operating across several jurisdictions, the review addresses a reporting gap. Suspicious activity involving players under an MGA licence must reach the Maltese regulator, even when a group first detects the pattern through operations under another licence. Some companies only understood that obligation after the MGA clarified it.

Financial losses do not determine whether an operator should file a report either. Licensees must submit relevant concerns within the required timeframe, regardless of whether anyone has suffered financial harm.

Betting Controls Explain Some Low Reporting Figures

Published on October 27, 2026, the review examined businesses that had submitted few or no suspicious betting reports. The MGA found that several had reduced their exposure through restrictive betting limits, conservative market selections and the removal of vulnerable events, including certain youth competitions.

In other words, report totals alone could not explain how well a business managed integrity risks. The MGA said:

“Low reporting volumes reflected the underlying risk management processes and reliance on external monitoring, rather than a simple absence of detection capability.”

However, reliance on outside monitoring also created gaps. Many businesses usually opened internal investigations only after an integrity partner sent an alert. Without that prompt, suspicious activity had less chance of reaching an investigation or report.

The MGA wants real-time betting monitoring backed by human oversight. Operators using B2B sportsbook suppliers should also retain access to betting data so their own teams can assess concerns.

Clear Reporting Duties Need Clear Written Procedures

The review identifies six areas for attention: reporting behaviour, monitoring, escalation, policies, athlete safeguards and relationships with integrity and sports bodies.

For compliance teams, the practical task starts with documenting the full route from detecting a concern to submitting a report. Procedures should explain who handles each stage, including the key compliance function, and when reporting deadlines apply.

“The responsibilities of the key compliance function should be explicitly documented, together with the requirement to submit suspicious betting reports within the prescribed timeframe.”

Written policies should also match everyday operations. That includes staff training, decisions to suspend betting markets and regular reviews of procedures. Meanwhile, open communication with integrity monitors and data providers can help teams assess unusual betting. Formal agreements may help, but the MGA does not require them.

Athlete checks form another part of those controls. Licensees can use databases, public information or questions to account holders to identify athletes and sports personnel, then restrict accounts where conflicts of interest arise.

How The MGA Conducted The Review

The work ran from Q2 to Q4 2025, covering a risk-based sample of B2C operators and B2B suppliers. Supervisory meetings, reviews, company documents and follow-up clarifications informed the findings.

The MGA had outlined the exercise in its February 2025 supervisory plan, using its Suspicious Betting Reporting Mechanism to identify businesses with little or no reporting. It published aggregated, anonymised findings without naming participants or disclosing the sample size.

The regulator will use the findings in future guidance and supervision. Its 2025 plan also warned that serious failings could lead to enforcement action.

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