meta_id 3361531

On July 29, 2026, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) published findings from its thematic review on governance assurance – key functions, a supervisory priority identified for 2025. The review assessed governance arrangements across a sample of business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) authorised persons, focusing on the effectiveness of the chief executive, compliance, internal audit, and prevention of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) functions in practice. The MGA conducted the review through supervisory reviews and supervisory meetings, finding that many authorised persons have established mature governance frameworks supported by active senior leadership, engaged key function holders, and increasingly risk-based approaches to governance, compliance, internal audit, and AML/CTF oversight. However, the review identified opportunities for further enhancement across the sector. Common themes included over-reliance on a limited number of senior decision-makers, insufficient evidence of challenge and impact assessment in strategic decision-making, and weaknesses in audit trails. The strongest governance arrangements were characterised by active leadership engagement, empowered key function holders, effective collaboration across assurance functions, and governance processes embedded into day-to-day decision-making. Examples of good practice included structured escalation procedures, risk-based monitoring programmes, independent assurance functions, governance committees, and proactive consideration of regulatory implications when entering new markets or implementing significant business changes. T The MGA intends the publication to support authorised persons in assessing the effectiveness of their governance arrangements, identifying opportunities for improvement, and strengthening oversight, accountability, and assurance across key governance functions. The authority remains committed to promoting transparency, consistency, and high standards of governance across the online gaming sector through ongoing supervisory engagement and outreach.