MGA casinos: what a Malta licence means if you live in Sweden

An MGA casino is an online casino licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, and because Malta is in the EEA, winnings can be tax free if you live in Sweden. That holds only when the game does not require a Swedish licence, which means it must not be aimed at Sweden. Spelpaus, Sweden’s self-exclusion register, does not cover these sites, and few of them accept players from Sweden today.

18+. Gambling for money can lead to addiction. Stödlinjen, the Swedish gambling helpline, answers on 020‑81 91 00, free and anonymous.

Playing at such a site is not illegal for you, according to Spelinspektionen, the Swedish gambling regulator, but Swedish rules give you no protection. Below you will find what the licence requires, how to verify it, how the tax test works and what to do when a withdrawal stalls. Details were checked in October 2026, and we do not point to individual sites.

How the Malta licence compares

Most large companies with a Maltese licence hold a Swedish licence for their Swedish customers, and many others block Sweden outright. The table compares what a player living in Sweden gets under each option.

BankID is the Swedish electronic ID used for logging in at Swedish-licensed sites. The other licences you are likely to meet are covered in our overview of foreign casinos and our page on Curaçao casinos.

What an MGA licence involves

Malta began licensing online gambling in 2001, the regulator took its current name in 2015, and the Gaming Act of 2018 now applies. A licence for companies selling directly to consumers is called B2C, and its number takes the form MGA/B2C/number/year.

Licence holders must meet requirements on customer checks under EU anti-money-laundering rules, keep player funds separate from company money, use certified random number generators, offer responsible gambling tools and belong to an independent ADR body. The MGA has also withdrawn licences from companies that broke the rules.

Three misunderstandings come up again and again:

• ”MGA means licensed for Sweden.” It does not. A Maltese company needs a licence from Spelinspektionen to target players in Sweden.
• ”Malta always means tax free.” The exemption applies only when the game does not require a Swedish licence.
• ”The MGA will step in if a withdrawal is stuck.” It has not ruled on individual disputes since 1 April 2019, although it does take reports of rule breaches.

When winnings from an MGA casino are tax free

According to Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, gambling within the EEA is tax free only if the game does not require a Swedish licence. A game is aimed at the Swedish market if, for example, it has Swedish text, is marketed in Sweden or allows deposits and withdrawals in kronor. Swedish-language customer support, campaigns for Swedish players and Swedish payment services built on BankID are other signs often mentioned.

So the test works against you in an odd way: the more a Malta site caters to you as a Swedish resident, the weaker the tax exemption becomes. If a game is judged to require a Swedish licence, your net win, meaning the difference between winnings and stakes at the same operator during the year, is taxed at 30% as capital income and reported in box 7.2 of your income tax return.

An example with invented figures: you win SEK 20,000 net in a year at an MGA site that does not target Sweden, and that win is tax free. Now suppose Skatteverket finds the game did require a Swedish licence. If you had won SEK 40,000 and staked SEK 25,000, the net win is SEK 15,000 and the tax SEK 4,500. Winnings of no more than SEK 100 are tax free, and a loss at another operator cannot be set against the win.

If you reported a win as tax free and Skatteverket later disagrees, you may owe the tax afterwards plus a 40% tax surcharge. No surcharge applies if you correct the return yourself before Skatteverket acts. Keep screenshots showing the site’s language, currency and any campaigns for Sweden at the time you played. Our guide to tax on casino winnings covers the rules in full.

How to verify an MGA licence

1. Find the licence number and company name in the footer or the terms.
2. Search for the company in the MGA licensee register.
3. Check that the status is Licensed and the type is B2C. Cancelled, Surrendered, Expired, Suspended or Voluntary Suspended all mean you should not deposit.
4. Open the Company Seal in the register and confirm the site’s domain is among those the licence covers.
5. Click the MGA seal in the footer. It should lead to the MGA verification page for the same company, not to an image or another website.

The MGA’s URL Checker shows which company a domain belongs to. If the address is on the MGA list of Unauthorised URLs, the licence claim is false. A number that looks right but is missing from the register is a common warning sign.

New brands deserve the same checks. A new MGA casino is usually a new brand under a company’s existing B2C licence, and the MGA requires prior approval for each new domain. Sister sites listed on the seal can show how the company has handled withdrawals. Having no complaints may only mean few people have played there yet, so a small deposit and a small withdrawal after verification will tell you more.

A Malta licence gives no right to target Sweden

The Swedish Gambling Act requires a Swedish licence for gambling offered on the Swedish market, including from companies licensed elsewhere in the EU. On 8 January 2026 Spelinspektionen banned Claymore Malta Ltd, which holds an MGA licence, from offering gambling in Sweden. The regulator pointed to the Swedish country code being preselected for registrations from a Swedish IP address and to marketing through Swedish-language websites and creators. The ban took effect at once and was lifted on 11 March 2026, according to Spelinspektionen’s list of decisions.

Two things follow for you. A site can close Swedish accounts at short notice if the regulator steps in, and a site judged to target Sweden may lose you the tax exemption. Search for the company name on the Spelinspektionen website before you deposit.

Accounts, payments and withdrawals

Without BankID you register with an email and password, or with a mobile number and a one-time SMS code. Pay N Play, Trustly’s service that combines registration and first deposit through your online bank, in Sweden with BankID, was not in practice available to players in Sweden at MGA sites in October 2026. The same applies to Trustly, Zimpler and Swish in general, and a site offering them to you is targeting Sweden. Our pages on casinos without BankID and payment methods have more.

Expect cards, instant bank transfers, Apple Pay and e-wallets. Use a debit card, not a credit card. Many sites also state that deposits with some e-wallets earn no bonus.

Limits often matter more than speed. Minimum withdrawals around 20 euros are common, as are caps of a few thousand euros per rolling day and 10,000 to 20,000 euros per rolling 30 days. Say you win 45,000 euros at a site capped at 20,000 euros per 30 days: the full amount reaches you only after about two months, and the balance sits exposed in the meantime.

EU rules require customer checks no later than at transactions of 2,000 euros or more, and many sites check earlier. Have ID, proof of address and proof of your payment method ready. For large sums you may also be asked to show the source of funds.

Bonuses

Swedish licence holders may offer a bonus only at the first gaming occasion (chapter 14, section 9 of the Gambling Act). MGA sites without a Swedish licence are not bound by that, but look at the maths. A 100 euro deposit with a 100 euro bonus at 35x deposit plus bonus means 7,000 euros in bets. With a 48-hour limit and a 5 euro maximum bet, that is at least 1,400 rounds in two days.

What to do when something goes wrong

Malta separates disputes from complaints. A dispute is a disagreement between you and the site, such as a refused withdrawal. A complaint is a report that the site is breaking the rules.

1. Write to the site first, describe the matter and keep copies.
2. Go to the ADR body named in the terms, often eCOGRA. This is free for the player.
3. Report rule breaches to the MGA using its Lodge a complaint form, in English or Maltese.

Spelinspektionen cannot help you in a dispute with an MGA site that has no Swedish licence. Keep the terms as they stood when you took a bonus, along with your chat logs, because the outcome rests on the terms that applied at the time.

Limits, self-exclusion and support

The MGA requires licence holders to offer deposit limits, loss and stake limits, time-outs, self-exclusion and reality checks. These tools apply only to the individual site, not to sister sites. Spelpaus had just under 138,000 people registered after the second quarter of 2026, and it does not reach MGA sites without a Swedish licence. Read our page on responsible gambling for blocking tools and treatment, or call Stödlinjen on 020‑81 91 00.

Frequently asked questions about MGA casinos

Are winnings from MGA casinos tax free in Sweden?

Not always. Malta is in the EEA, and gambling within the EEA is tax free only if the game does not require a Swedish licence. If a site targets players in Sweden, for example with Swedish text or kronor, the game may be judged to require one, and your net win is then taxed at 30% per operator per year.

How do I check that a casino has a valid MGA licence?

Find the licence number and company name in the footer and search the MGA licensee register on mga.org.mt. The status should be Licensed, the licence should be B2C and the site’s domain should be among the websites the licence covers.

Do all MGA casinos accept players from Sweden?

No, quite the opposite. Most MGA-licensed companies either hold a Swedish licence for Swedish customers or block Sweden altogether. Check the list of restricted countries in the terms before you register.

Where do I complain if an MGA casino will not pay?

Complain in writing to the site first. Then go to the ADR body named in its terms, often eCOGRA, which is free for the player. The MGA Player Support Unit has not ruled on individual disputes since 1 April 2019, but you can report rule breaches through its Lodge a complaint form.

Does Spelpaus work at MGA casinos?

No. Spelpaus does not apply at MGA sites without a Swedish licence. Limits and self-exclusion on the site apply only to that site, not to sister sites or other companies.

How can I spot a fake MGA licence?

Enter the address in the MGA URL Checker. A false claim usually shows up as a number missing from the register, a domain the licence does not cover, or a footer seal that leads to an image or another website. If the address is on the MGA list of Unauthorised URLs, the licence claim is false.