Editorial role: iGaming Compliance & Legal Advisor
Based in: Malta · Experience: 11+ years in gaming law and regulatory compliance · Focus: Licensing and legal accuracy across sportsbook and casino · Coverage: UAE, MGA and Curaçao licensing
About Marco
Marco Borg is Emirates-Betting.com’s iGaming Compliance & Legal Advisor. An independent Malta-based gaming-law consultant, he reviews the licensing status, jurisdiction and regulatory standing of operators referenced across the site’s sportsbook and casino content.
Marco holds an LLM in Gaming Law & Regulation from the University of Malta and previously worked as in-house Regulatory Counsel for an MGA-licensed operator group, managing licence compliance and jurisdictional risk assessments across multiple markets. Since 2023, he has advised independent gaming media on legal accuracy, including UAE-specific context under the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) framework, MGA-licensed operators and Curaçao licensing.
His work helps the site distinguish technical availability from legal authorisation and avoid overstating an operator’s status in markets where online gambling remains restricted.
How Marco verifies licensing
Before an operator licence claim is published, Marco cross-checks the licence number against the relevant public regulator register. Depending on the claim, this may include the MGA register, the Curaçao regulator’s public register or the GCGRA framework. He does not treat a licence number displayed on an operator’s website as sufficient evidence on its own.
The same check covers sportsbook and casino products where they operate under the same licence. Because licensing status and legal frameworks can change, each review is treated as a dated snapshot. Licensing sections record when the public register was checked, while the site’s UAE legal-status guidance is revisited when the regulatory position changes.
Areas of expertise
- Licensing reviews covering GCGRA, MGA and Curaçao licensing
- Jurisdiction and geo-restriction accuracy for UAE and MENA readers
- UAE online-gambling legal-status explainers
- Licence-verification notes in sportsbook and casino brand reviews
- Regulatory news and legal disclaimers
Education and credentials
- LLM in Gaming Law & Regulation, University of Malta
- LLB, University of Malta
- Former in-house Regulatory Counsel for an MGA-licensed operator group
- Independent gaming-law consultant based in Malta since 2023
- 11+ years in gaming law and regulatory compliance
Read How We Rate Bookmakers for the site’s current licensing and safety criteria.
Career timeline
- 2010: Began an LLB at the University of Malta.
- 2015: After completing his LLB in 2013, completed an LLM in Gaming Law & Regulation at the University of Malta in 2015. He then joined the gaming and regulatory practice of a Malta-based law firm as a junior associate, preparing licence-application materials for operators seeking MGA authorisation. He contributed to a successful MGA licence application for a first-time operator client.
- 2020: After moving in-house in 2018, worked as Regulatory Counsel for an MGA-licensed operator group through 2022. His responsibilities included ongoing licence compliance, responsible-gambling policy documentation and jurisdictional risk assessments. He led the group’s compliance response during an MGA audit cycle that concluded with no material findings.
- 2025: Became an independent Malta-based gaming-law consultant in 2023, advising gaming media and smaller operators on regulatory accuracy, including Curaçao licensing and GCGRA-related content for MENA audiences. He developed the site’s methodology for cross-checking licence claims against public regulator registers.
- Present (2026): Reviews licensing sections across the site’s sportsbook and casino brand coverage and contributes to its UAE legal-status explainers.
Meet the other specialists responsible for our reviews on the Editorial Team page.
