An April 23 non-binding opinion from an Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union has found Malta’s Bill 55 incompatible with EU law, marking the second significant setback for the country’s iGaming protection regime in just over a week.
Key Takeaways:
AG Emiliou found Malta’s Bill 55 incompatible with the EU’s Brussels I bis Regulation on April 23. Malta’s iGaming sector accounts for 10.1% of the national economy per MGA’s 2024 report. Emiliou said Maltese gaming licenses are, in principle, valid only in Malta under EU law. Pressure builds on Article 56AEmiliou declared the provision — Article 56A of Malta’s Gaming Act, introduced via Bill 55 in June 2023 — “manifestly incompatible with the rules governing the recognition and enforcement of judgments” under the EU’s Brussels I bis Regulation. Bill 55 instructs Maltese courts to refuse recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments against Maltese-licensed gaming operators where the underlying services were lawful under Maltese law.
Emiliou found that Malta cannot rely on the public policy (ordre public) clause of the Brussels I bis Regulation to block recognition of such judgments on the basis that other member states allegedly misapplied EU law, including the freedom to provide services. Substantive EU law issues, the AG noted, cannot be re-examined at the recognition and enforcement stage under the guise of the public policy exception.
The AG also rejected the premise underlying Malta’s defense of Bill 55, which is that a Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) license grants operators the right to offer their services freely across the bloc. Under the current state of EU law, Emiliou wrote, member states are under no obligation to recognize gambling licenses issued by other member states. The country-of-origin principle, Emiliou added, does not extend to online gambling, and member states may apply their own gambling laws to operators licensed elsewhere.
The AG further observed that Bill 55 appears designed primarily to shield Malta’s iGaming industry from the financial consequences of foreign restitution claims.
AG opinions are not binding on the CJEU, but the court follows them in roughly two-thirds of cases. Final judgment is expected this year. The stakes for Malta are substantial: according to the MGA’s 2024 annual report, the iGaming sector generated €1.386 billion in gross value added and, with indirect spillover included, accounted for 10.1% of the national economy.
