Card Acquiring for MGA-Licensed iGaming Operators
Malta Gaming Authority placements

Your MGA licence lets you operate from Malta, but card acquirers will underwrite based on where your players are located. Most major EU markets now require a local licence (Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden), and acquirers will expect either local authorisation or geo-blocking before boarding you for those markets.

MCC 7995 (betting, including lottery, casino gaming chips and wagers). This is a registered-merchant code under both Visa GBPP/VIRP and Mastercard BRAM, meaning the acquirer must be specifically enrolled in those scheme programmes to board you — most are not.

For a new MGA operator with no prior processing history, expect 15-20% rolling reserve held for 180-270 days. Established operators with 12+ months of clean processing data can usually negotiate down to 10-15% over 180 days, and lower again as the dispute ratio stabilises.

Yes. Under the MGA's licence conditions, you must notify the Authority of payment service providers used and any material changes. This is a standard part of your compliance file and acquirers expect to see it acknowledged in your application.

Because MCC 7995 requires VIRP and Mastercard Gambling Merchant Registration, which most acquirers haven't enrolled in. The decline is structural, not about your file quality. You need an acquirer with an active gambling programme — there are not many of them in the EU.

VAMP, effective April 2025, combines fraud and non-fraud dispute ratios into one metric. Gambling merchants are treated as elevated risk, so acquirers will price your fees and reserve around expected VAMP exposure and may impose dispute-ratio covenants in your merchant agreement.