Malta-registered betting company E-Play 24 ITA Ltd has been identified in an ongoing Italian criminal investigation into a network of illegal online gambling operations, according to a joint investigation by Amphora Media and IRPI Media published in July 2025.
The probe, named “Kappa” and conducted by prosecutors in Messina, focuses on activity spanning the period from 2018 onwards. According to judicial records reviewed by the investigators, the alleged scheme involves using Italian-domain betting sites as a facade, with bets routed to “.com” sites held outside Italy’s licensed framework. Prosecutors suspect the arrangement was used to evade Italian tax authorities, a pattern that mirrors methods identified in previous Italian anti-mafia operations targeting illegal gambling infrastructure.
Two Italian-domain sites owned by E-Play 24 ITA were allegedly used in the scheme, according to a court ordinance authorising arrest warrants. The investigation reviewed documents connecting the company to a Malta-Italy network suspected of illegal online gambling.
Company Denies Involvement
E-Play 24 ITA’s representative Donato Menechella rejected the allegations. The company stated it is “completely unrelated” to the investigation and has “not received any requests from the judiciary.” Menechella added that in 2022, the company was acquired by an international group whose majority shares are held by Spain’s Cirsa Group. E-Play 24 ITA said it “immediately suspended all commercial relations” with individuals named in media reports about the investigation upon becoming aware of them. Cirsa Group did not respond to requests for comment before publication of the Amphora/IRPI investigation.
Former MGA Official’s Connected Roles
The investigation surfaces in the context of separate legal proceedings involving Iosif Galea, a former Malta Gaming Authority official. Galea was convicted in 2022 of evading more than €1.7m in taxes through an unrelated Malta-registered company offering sports betting to customers in Germany. In 2023, he was charged with financial crimes in Malta, including allegations of unexplained transfers of more than €150,000 to a current MGA official and his wife, according to court records. A Maltese court order freezing Galea’s assets, issued in 2023, remained in force at the time of the Amphora/IRPI report. Galea has denied the allegations in the Maltese case.
Malta Business Registry records show Galea held director roles at companies affiliated with E-Play 24 ITA from 2014 to 2021. His most prominent role at the company itself was in 2015, three years before the period covered by the Kappa investigation. He is not mentioned in the Kappa documents reviewed by the reporters.
Maltese AML expert Ambrose Muscat addressed the general principle of director responsibility in comments to Amphora Media.
“All directors are deemed to be accountable for any malfeasance or lack of compliance by the company on whose board they sit,” Muscat said.
A Recurring Pattern for Italian Regulators
The Kappa investigation is not an isolated event. Italian prosecutors and law enforcement have run a series of operations over the past decade targeting criminal networks that have used Malta-registered companies to offer unlicensed gambling services in Italy and launder proceeds from other illegal activities. In a 2024 operation, Italian authorities seized assets of approximately €400m linked to a Malta-based iGaming operator suspected of acting as a front for criminal networks with connections to the Reggio Calabria region. A 2023 Sicilian operation resulted in 12 arrests, with investigators tracing an illegal online betting network generating €14m per month in turnover through Malta-registered companies that held no Italian licence. In each instance, the MGA stated it had no knowledge of the companies involved or that those companies operated without valid MGA authorisation.
Italy requires gambling operators serving its market to hold an Italian licence and use the “.it” domain. MGA-licensed operators are permitted to operate in a range of jurisdictions but are banned from offering services where a locally issued licence is required. The recurring use of Maltese company structures in Italian enforcement actions has drawn continued scrutiny to the question of whether those structures are being misused to circumvent Italian licensing requirements. Italy launched a new online gambling licensing regime with 52 active permits in November 2025, tightening the framework operators must comply with to serve the Italian market.
MGA Oversight Under Continued Scrutiny
The MGA published its first-half 2025 enforcement data in December 2025, showing it reviewed 755 URLs for illegal activity, identified 34 sites falsely claiming MGA licences, and received 29 international cooperation requests. Eight of the 85 international cooperation requests received in 2024 related to investigations into illegal operations and criminal activities.
The MGA’s regulatory position is also under separate legal pressure at the European level. Austria’s Supreme Court has referred a case to the European Court of Justice concerning “Bill 55,” a 2023 Maltese law that allows Maltese courts to decline enforcement of foreign court judgements against Malta-registered gambling companies. A March 2025 Investigate Europe report found that companies including Flutter, Betsson, and Kindred have cited the law as material to their legal exposure in consumer claims across Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, where an estimated 50,000 claims are ongoing against Malta-registered operators. The rising cost of non-compliance across European markets has become a defining theme for regulators and operators alike heading into 2026.
The Italian digital firewall initiative, which launched in 2025 to block unlicensed gambling sites, represents Italy’s broader effort to reduce the black market share that has persisted despite successive enforcement actions. The Kappa investigation remains ongoing. No trial date has been publicly confirmed, and E-Play 24 ITA maintains it has received no contact from the Italian judiciary.
Source: Amphora Media, IRPI Media
