Malta Gaming Authority Publishes Voluntary Charter on Responsible Use of AI

^{The Malta Gaming Authority, based in Valletta, published the charter in partnership with the Malta Digital Innovation Authority. (Photo: ianpudsey / Wikimedia Commons)}

The Malta Gaming Authority has launched a voluntary "AI Gaming Charter" setting out how licensed gambling operators should use artificial intelligence, the regulator said in a statement published on 18 September 2026.

The charter was developed jointly with the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA) and launched at an event bringing together representatives from the gaming industry, public sector and technology community. The MGA said the framework complements existing legal requirements, including the EU AI Act, while offering guidance tailored specifically to gaming operations such as player protection, fraud detection, customer interaction and operational decision-making.

A Voluntary Framework, Not a New Rule

The framework is voluntary and creates no new legal or regulatory obligations for operators. The MGA said the Charter is the result of extensive engagement with the industry, including sector-wide surveys, targeted discussions with licensees and a dedicated consultation process that it first opened to the sector in May 2026, an approach it said helped keep the framework practical and proportionate rather than a rulebook drafted without input from the businesses it covers.

The Charter's scope reflects how far AI already reaches into day-to-day gambling operations. The MGA said licensees are applying the technology across player protection checks, fraud detection, customer interaction tools such as chatbots, and broader operational decision-making, and the framework is meant to help operators put governance, human oversight and ethical safeguards around all of it rather than treating AI as a purely technical add-on.

MGA chief executive Charles Mizzi described the charter as the product of collaboration across the industry.

"The AI Gaming Charter reflects a shared commitment between regulators, industry and technology experts to promote the responsible and transparent use of artificial intelligence. Our role as a regulator is not to stand in the way of innovation, but to help create the certainty and confidence needed for innovation to flourish responsibly," Mizzi said at the launch event.

MDIA chief executive Kenneth Brincat said trust was fundamental to responsible AI adoption, adding that the Charter "translates these principles into practical, sector-specific guidance," combining MDIA's AI governance expertise with the MGA's understanding of the gaming sector.

Malta Adds to a Widening Regulatory Push on AI

The charter positions Malta among the jurisdictions moving to set clearer expectations for AI use in gambling before formal legislation catches up with the technology. Malta remains one of the largest licensing hubs for online operators serving European markets, and its regulatory choices are frequently watched by operators licensed elsewhere.

The MGA has taken an active line on operator obligations before; its recent guidance clarifying Article 56A requirements for casinos and players showed the regulator is willing to issue detailed clarifications outside formal legislation when it sees a gap.

What to Watch

The MGA has not set a deadline for operators to formally adopt the charter, and it remains unclear how, or whether, take-up will be measured. The full text of the Charter is published on the MGA's website, and other regulators weighing similar frameworks are likely to watch how many Malta-licensed operators sign on in the coming months.