Malta’s regulator MGA calls for stronger online gambling self-exclusion
The Malta Gaming Authority has told online gambling firms to tighten their self-exclusion systems after a regulator-led “mystery shopping exercise” found cases where players could still register, deposit and play across multiple brands.
In a thematic review carried out in 2025, the authority examined “the real-world performance of player protection tools across 20 licensees and 58 active URLs”, prompted by reports that some people who had self-excluded because of problem gambling were still able to access other sites under the same licence.
The MGA said the sector’s overall standard was encouraging, with “a positive level of compliance”, but it also pointed to recurring weaknesses that it wants operators to fix. Licensees have been asked to submit rectification plans, with further supervisory follow-up and monitoring to ensure changes are implemented.
Gaming generated €714.4m in gross value added in the first half of 2025, representing 6.5% of Malta’s total GVA, stated the regulator in a separate interim performance report.
Loopholes across brands
The MGA’s review focused on business-to-consumer operators and corporate group licensees in the online sector, explicitly excluding land-based gambling.
Its core concern was whether self-exclusion, a tool intended to lock people out of gambling services for a set period or indefinitely, is working as intended once players move between brands. The authority said the project was triggered by “a recurring pattern of complaints concerning self-excluded individuals who were able to access multiple brands operating under the same licence”.
According to the findings, “Three Licensees allowed registration, deposit, and play despite the use of similar identity fields to those of a self-excluded player.” The regulator said firms were expected to maintain systems that could “reliably” spot the same person attempting to open a new account with “identical or materially similar personal details”, and to stop them from being able to gamble across sister brands under the same licence.
However, the problem is not confined to regulated operators. In an interview with SiGMA News, Matt Zarb-Cousin, co-founder of gambling-blocking software Gamban, has argued that self-exclusion can be undermined by the easy availability of unlicensed sites. “The black market gambling sites are targeting people who have signed up to the self-exclusion registers,” he said. “It’s a deliberate strategy.”
From cooling-off to reality checks
Beyond cross-brand access, the MGA highlighted several other failures that, in its view, weaken safeguards at the point when people most need them.
On delayed account closure, the report found that “Two out of 20 Licensees failed to close the account within 24 hours of the self-exclusion request made through email.”
The regulator pointed to existing rules requiring immediate action. The MGA added that it did “not consider any period longer than 24 (twenty-four) hours to meet the definition of forthwith.”
The review also identified a case where an operator lifted an exclusion too quickly. “One Licensee removed the self-exclusion upon player request, without imposing a mandatory cooling-off period.” The relevant regulation requires delays before any reduction or revocation takes effect, including: “not less than twenty-four hours” for a definite period, and “not less than seven days” for an indefinite exclusion.
A further issue concerned “Reality Check” pop-up alerts, on-screen interventions intended to show time and money spent during a session. The review found “Six out of 20 Licensees necessitated further mandatory information in the Reality Check Pop-up tool.” The regulation is explicit that the alert “shall suspend play” and display session statistics, including “the amount of time which the player has spent playing” and “the amount of money or money’s worth wagered”.
In its conclusion, the MGA urged operators to treat the exercise as a chance to raise the bar across the industry: “Through collective effort and consistent application of best practices, the industry can continue to evolve in a manner that prioritises player welfare, operational resilience, and regulatory accountability.”
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