Adding products to gaming licence coverage means asking your regulator to extend an existing licence, not applying for a new one. An operator that already holds a Malta Gaming Authority licence may want to offer a new game, a new game type, or a new channel of delivery. In that case you follow a shorter approval route, not the full application. This guide sets out how adding products to gaming licence coverage works. It covers both approval paths, the fee per application, the full cost, realistic timelines, and common errors.
Key takeaways
- Regulator: Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)
- Fee: 1,000 EUR per technical application, whether you add new games, a new game type or vertical, or a new channel of delivery
- Fast path: a game reusing an approved RNG and game engine can go live, with five days’ notice to the MGA
- Prior approval: a game built on a new random number generator or game engine needs MGA approval before it goes live
- Scope: an extension widens what an existing licence permits; it does not grant access to a market the licence never covered
What adding products to gaming licence coverage involves
Every operator licence carries a scope. That scope sets out which games and betting products you may legally offer. Regulators split them into categories such as casino and RNG games, sports betting, peer-to-peer, bingo, or lotteries. When you stay inside a category you already hold, you are adding a product. When you move into a category the licence never covered, you are adding a new vertical. Both routes are extensions of the same licence. Adding products to gaming licence coverage keeps you inside one authorisation, so the file you already built carries forward.
The principle holds across regulators. An operator that already possesses a Gaming Service Licence or a Critical Gaming Supply Licence does not repeat the full application to add a game. Instead, it files a targeted approval request with the authority. The mechanics below use the Malta MGA licence as the worked example, because the MGA publishes clear application types and fees. If you hold a licence in another jurisdiction, the categories and fees differ, but the concept of a scope extension is the same. For the obligations that continue once your licence is live, see what happens after you receive a gaming licence.
Notification versus prior approval: which path applies
The single most important question is whether your new game needs prior approval or only a notification. When adding products to gaming licence scope, the answer turns on the technical components behind the game. So confirm this before you plan a launch date, because it decides whether you can go live now or must wait.
Say a game uses a random number generator and a game engine the MGA already approved. If it also does not come from an authorised provider with a pre-existing relationship, you notify the Authority within five days. That is the fast path. If the game uses a random number generator or game engine the MGA has not yet approved, prior approval is mandatory. The game cannot go live until then. In that case the game must be certified first, which is where RNG testing for online casino games enters the timeline. The MGA sets out these triggers in its prior approval requirements.
Adding products to gaming licence coverage: new games and live studios
To add new games or live casino studios, you submit the application called Technical, New Games through the MGA Licensee Portal. The fee is 1,000 EUR. The portal is the single channel for the request, so you do not correspond by email or file a fresh licence form.
The supporting pack covers the technical setup and the essential components of each game. Where the random number generator and game engine are already approved, the notification route applies. The games can go live, with notice inside five days. Where either component is new, the prior-approval route applies and the games wait for the MGA decision. Many operators source games from a platform partner, so the components are often pre-certified. Our guide on choosing a gaming platform provider explains how the provider relationship affects which path you take.
Adding a new game type or gaming vertical
Adding a vertical is the most involved form of adding products to gaming licence scope. It is a larger step than adding a game inside a category you already hold. A vertical is a category of products that needs its own safeguards, because its characteristics differ from other categories. Moving from casino games into sports betting, or into bingo, is a vertical change. For that, you file the Technical, Change in Game Type or Provider application, again for 1,000 EUR.
The documents for a vertical change go further than a single new game. You submit the key technical setup and the essential components. An updated Specifications of the Gaming System document must also be filed, together with a declaration confirming that the existing policies still apply. You may also need evidence that share capital has been increased. The licence type and the games applied for set the minimum issued paid-up share capital. In Malta that minimum is 100,000 EUR for a B2C licence and 25,000 EUR for a B2B licence. So a higher-risk vertical can push a thinly capitalised company to top up.
Where a new game type relies on new components, an accredited laboratory such as Gaming Laboratories International certifies them before approval.
Adding a new channel of delivery
A product is more than a game. The channel that delivers it also sits inside your licence scope. You might launch a mobile app, a virtual reality environment, or another new delivery method. If your licence did not previously cover it, you file a change of delivery channel. The fee is again 1,000 EUR, submitted through the same Licensee Portal.
The MGA treats a delivery channel as a technical change. So the request focuses on how the new channel works and how your controls carry across. That means your player protection and anti-money-laundering measures must function on the new channel as well as the old one. So plan the compliance mapping before you file, since a channel that weakens an existing control invites a follow-up request.
The real cost of adding products to gaming licence scope
The 1,000 EUR application fee is the visible cost of adding products to gaming licence coverage. It is rarely the whole cost. When a new random number generator or game engine is involved, testing and certification, share capital, and advisory work all add to the figure. The table below sets out the items to budget for, so the fee does not become a surprise later.
| Cost item | When it applies | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| MGA technical application fee | Every product, vertical, or channel addition | 1,000 EUR per application |
| Testing and certification | New RNG or game engine, or new vertical components | Quoted by the accredited laboratory |
| Share capital top-up | Higher-risk vertical raises the minimum capital | Toward 100,000 EUR B2C or 25,000 EUR B2B |
| Policy and system updates | New vertical or new channel | Internal or advisory time |
| Advisory and legal support | Complex additions or multiple items | Fee agreed with the adviser |
The certification cost is the item most operators underestimate, because a laboratory quotes per game or per component rather than a flat rate. So treat the ranges above as a planning baseline and confirm the laboratory quote before you commit to a launch window. If you add several games or providers at once, the 1,000 EUR fee attaches to the application type. So confirm with the MGA whether your batch counts as one submission or several.
How long a product approval takes
The MGA does not publish a fixed turnaround for prior-approval applications, so any single figure would be a guess. What you can plan around when adding products to gaming licence scope is the path. On the notification route, you do not wait: the games go live and you notify the Authority within five days. That is the fastest way to add a product.
On the prior-approval route, the timeline depends on certification more than on the MGA queue. The testing laboratory sets the pace. Lab work on a new random number generator or game engine commonly runs to a few weeks. So the sequence is certification first, then the portal application, then the decision. The notification route can be immediate, while the prior-approval route runs weeks. That means the technical make-up of the game is what really sets your launch date.
What operators get wrong when extending licence scope
The most common error in adding products to gaming licence coverage is assuming that no approval is needed at all. A live licence does not let you add any product freely, and a new random number generator or game engine always triggers prior approval. Launch first and notify later on a game that needed prior approval, and you have a compliance breach on record.
Three other mistakes recur. First, operators forget to update the Specifications of the Gaming System document, so the filed record no longer matches the live platform. Second, they treat a vertical change as a simple game addition and miss the share capital and policy requirements. Third, they carry old player protection controls onto a new channel without checking that the controls still work. To keep the licence file and the live platform aligned, our gaming licensing compliance service maintains the policies and system documents the MGA expects. Our platform consultancy and RNG testing services coordinate certification for new components. The obligations continue after each addition, so staying compliant after your gaming licence is issued matters as much as the initial grant. When the right route is unclear, book a consultation before you file. The wrong path can cost you a launch window.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a new licence to add products to a gaming licence?
No. An operator that already holds a Gaming Service Licence or a Critical Gaming Supply Licence does not reapply. It asks the Malta Gaming Authority for a targeted approval instead. Adding products to gaming licence coverage extends the existing licence rather than replacing it.
How much does it cost to add a new game to an MGA licence?
The MGA charges 1,000 EUR for the Technical, New Games application, filed through the Licensee Portal. That fee covers the application type. Testing or certification costs apply separately when a new random number generator or game engine is involved.
When is prior approval needed to add a game?
Prior approval is mandatory when the game uses a random number generator or game engine the MGA has not already approved. If both components are already approved, a lighter route can apply. You then notify the Authority within five days of adding the game, provided it is not from an authorised provider with a pre-existing relationship.
How long does MGA prior approval take?
The MGA does not publish a fixed processing time for prior-approval applications. The main variable is certification. Testing a new random number generator or game engine at an accredited laboratory commonly takes a few weeks. The notification route, by contrast, lets the game go live immediately.
Can you add a new gaming vertical to an existing licence?
Yes. Moving into a new category, such as sports betting or bingo, uses the Technical, Change in Game Type or Provider application for 1,000 EUR. You file an updated Specifications of the Gaming System document and a declaration that existing policies still apply. You also provide evidence of increased share capital where the new vertical requires it.
Do you have to increase share capital when adding a vertical?
Sometimes. The licence type and the games applied for set the minimum issued paid-up share capital. In Malta that is 100,000 EUR for a B2C licence and 25,000 EUR for a B2B licence. A higher-risk vertical can require evidence that the company has topped up toward the applicable minimum.
Can you beta-test a new product before approval?
Not where the product needs prior approval. A game built on a new random number generator or game engine must be certified and approved before it reaches players. Where a game qualifies for the notification route, it can go live first, with notice to the MGA within five days.
What happens if the MGA rejects a new product application?
A rejection means the product cannot go live under your licence until the issues are resolved. The usual cause is a documentation or certification gap rather than a flat refusal, so the practical response is to correct the file and resubmit. A licensing adviser can identify the gap before you refile.