The MGA publishes its Capital Requirements Policy – Malta Gaming Authority
Summary
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has issued a new Capital Requirements Policy to strengthen the financial resilience of entities holding a licence to provide remote gaming services and/or critical gaming supplies. The Policy aims to ensure licence holders maintain sufficient capital to support ongoing operations and growth, reflecting the MGA’s objective to safeguard industry integrity and sustainability.
The Policy follows a broad consultation process, has been notified to the EU TRIS system under Directive (EU) 2015/1535, and introduces a Positive Equity Position requirement alongside existing minimum nominal share capital rules. A mechanism to restore Negative Equity Positions is included as an early warning tool. The Policy is effective immediately, with transitional arrangements for new and existing licence holders set out in the document. The full Policy is available from the MGA website.
Key Points
- The MGA has published a Capital Requirements Policy targeting financial soundness of remote gaming and critical supply licence holders.
- The Policy builds on minimum nominal share capital rules and now requires licence holders to maintain a Positive Equity Position.
- A requirement and process to restore Negative Equity Positions acts as an objective early warning and remediation trigger.
- The Policy was shaped by an extensive public consultation and has been notified to the EU TRIS system (Directive (EU) 2015/1535).
- The Policy is in force immediately, but includes specified transitional periods for both new and existing licence holders.
Context and relevance
This measure is part of the MGA’s broader regulatory effort to bolster sector stability and consumer protection in an industry where financial failure can have wide repercussions. By formalising equity requirements and remediation steps, the Authority strengthens its capacity to monitor, detect and act on early signs of financial distress among licence holders.
Operators, auditors and compliance teams should review the Policy to understand the new capital and reporting expectations and to plan any necessary balance-sheet or governance adjustments. The move also aligns Malta with wider EU transparency and supervisory norms by notifying TRIS.
Why should I read this?
If you run, work for, advise or audit an MGA-licenced business, this is relevant — quickly. The MGA has added concrete equity tests and early-fix rules that could affect your day-to-day compliance, capital planning and remediation timelines. We’ve boiled the essentials down so you don’t need to sift through the full Policy unless it directly affects you.
Source
Source: https://www.mga.org.mt/the-mga-publishes-its-capital-requirements-policy/