Casino.net has released an analysis aimed at helping players determine if an online casino genuinely possesses the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) license it claims. Under the guidance of Dominic Pines, who covers the Malta market for the site, the analysis outlines the pitfalls of placing too much trust in the license badges, numbers, and regulatory logos often found in the footers of casino websites.
Pines emphasizes that the best way to verify a casino's licensing is to start with its URL and check its current status through the public register provided by the MGA. He remarked, "A license badge in a footer proves somebody put an image in a footer. That is the whole of what it proves."
For verification, the MGA provides a public register accessible by licensee name, authorization status, URL, and type of gaming service. Pines points out that confirming the URL is crucial because a legitimate company name can be misrepresented by websites that do not have the relevant licenses. He stated, "You go to the register and you start from the URL, not from the name."
The analysis advises players to cross-check three key elements: the license number, the website URL, and the current authorization status. If these do not align, Pines suggests further checks should be conducted before recommending any operator to players.
This guidance is particularly timely following a notice from the MGA in July 2026, which alerted players to the risks presented by websites impersonating licensed operators. According to the MGA, several sites were misleading users into thinking they were licensed under Malta’s Gaming Act, revealing that these URLs were not connected to the Authority and their claims of MGA licenses were false.
Pines asserts that this situation underscores the unreliability of static badges or license numbers to determine regulatory standing. On the listing side, casino.net requires that every operator featured on its Malta page must have an active MGA license. Operators are evaluated on several aspects including account setup, game offerings, withdrawals, and customer service. Pines noted, "The register decides whether an operator can be considered at all, and the testing decides where it lands."
This assessment process does not stop after an initial review; casino.net maintains that regulatory status is ongoing information, as licenses may expire, ownership can change, and domains might be reassigned.
Pines also calls for greater clarity throughout the industry regarding licensing statuses. Rather than generic claims of being "licensed and regulated," he suggests that operators should specify the jurisdiction and provide verifiable information supporting those claims. Pines commented, "A regulator that publishes the fakes is giving you a verification tool. A regulator that says nothing is not thereby cleaner, it is just quieter."
