MGA narrows Recognition Notice reforms and abandons legal opinion template

The Malta Gaming Authority revised its proposed Recognition Notice reforms on 29 October 2026, removing a standardised legal opinion template and replacing precise figures with bands and percentages for annual reporting. The regulator will run the first annual information exercise in 2026 for B2C Recognition Notice holders only, covering the period 1 January to 31 December 2025; B2B holders will enter the process in a subsequent cycle.

What the MGA changed and what remains

The feedback statement published by the Malta Gaming Authority on 29 October 2026 follows a targeted consultation that ran from 29 April to 27 May 2026. The regulator says respondents generally supported the direction of the reforms while stressing proportionality, practicality and avoiding duplication with foreign licensing authorities.

Key changes the MGA adopted in its final position on the Recognition Notice framework include:

• removal of the proposed standardised legal opinion template, replaced by a list of required confirmations after concerns about rigidity, cost and asking lawyers to opine on operational matters;

• narrowing of the regulatory history disclosure to cover fitness and propriety, ownership and control, licensing status and material regulatory matters; the earlier proposal to collect five years of regulatory correspondence "where known" has been dropped;

• replacement of an exact corporate structure chart with collection of ultimate beneficial owner information, to be gathered from existing holders on a staggered basis;

• retention of MLRO contact details and declarations on sanctioned jurisdictions, FATF high-risk jurisdictions and land-based activity.

For reporting, the MGA will capture data in bands and percentage splits rather than transaction-level or exact figures. B2C holders will report active player accounts, their distribution across predefined deposit-value bands, and a percentage split of deposits by payment method category. Employee reporting is limited to Malta-based full-time equivalents and revenue will be reported as a band. The first return will not require B2B client counts; those are deferred to a later cycle.

Annual return timing and scope

The Authority states the first annual information exercise will launch in 2026 and will capture calendar year 2025 for B2C Recognition Notice holders only, covering 1 January to 31 December 2025. The MGA expects later returns to align with the September Industry Performance Return timetable. The regulator has not published the number of Recognition Notice holders, the expected number of respondents to the annual exercise, nor a legislative timetable for the regulatory amendments it says some measures require.

Rationale behind the retreat in precision

The regulator tied the Recognition Notice proposals to Malta's 2023 National Risk Assessment and to the National AML/CFT Strategy 2024 to 2026. The final position reflects industry concerns over cost and confidentiality while retaining measures that enable the MGA to assess each holder's scale, Malta footprint and payment exposure through bands. For applicants, the single most tangible reduction in compliance burden is the removal of the legal opinion template, which the MGA says raised significant concerns over rigidity and cost.

The Recognition Notice in regulatory context

A Recognition Notice gives an authorisation from another EU or EEA member state, or from a state the MGA deems to offer safeguards largely equivalent to Maltese law, the same effect as a Maltese authorisation for providing a gaming service or gaming supply in or from Malta, the regulator reiterates in the feedback statement. The framework represents the inward face of the point-of-supply model Malta defends for cross-border activity.

The MGA previously responded in June 2025 to the European Commission's letter of formal notice over Article 56A of the Gaming Act, formerly Bill 55, by saying its licence was designed for cross-border supply under the freedom to provide services. On 23 April 2026 Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou said an Austrian reference in Case C-683/24 was inadmissible but that, if answered, the provision was manifestly incompatible with the Brussels I bis Regulation.

Implementation gaps and related regulatory changes in Malta

The feedback statement says guidance, templates and a risk-rating methodology will follow, and that some measures will require amendments to the regulatory framework before they take full effect. With under two months of 2026 remaining at the time of the statement, the MGA has not yet published the definitions and deposit bands that B2C holders will use for the first return.

The Recognition Notice update is the latest of several Malta developments this autumn. A new gaming tax took effect on 1 October 2026 and the Malta Gaming Authority signed a player protection agreement with the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA). The MGA describes the final package as a response to consultation feedback that balanced the authority's data needs against concerns over cost and confidentiality.

What to expect next

The regulator says it will circulate guidance and templates and publish a risk-rating methodology ahead of subsequent information cycles. The first B2C exercise will run in 2026 and cover 2025; B2B holders will be asked to submit information in a later cycle once the MGA publishes the outstanding definitions and bands.