A gaming-related Maltese company owned by bankrupt crypto giant FTX is not licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, it has emerged. 

FTX Malta Gaming Services Limited and FTX Malta Holdings Limited were registered as local companies in April 2022. Both list billionaire and FTX Trading founder Sam Bankman-Fried as their sole director.

Bermuda-based FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the US earlier this month. Until that point, the company was the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Times of Malta reported last week that neither of FTX's two Malta-based firms was licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority to carry out any activities related to virtual financial assets or cryptocurrencies in or from Malta.

The gaming regulator has now confirmed that, despite its name, FTX Malta Gaming Services Limited did not have a gaming licence either. 

Both it and FTX Malta Holdings Limited have "never" been licensed by the gaming authority, an MGA spokesperson said.

“The MGA confirms that there is no connection whatsoever with the below mentioned companies ‒ they were never licensed by the MGA,” the spokesperson said.

“The authority will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

The MFSA also said it is keeping an eye on developments.

It remains unclear what ‘gaming services’, if any, FTX Malta Gaming Services Limited offered. 

The two Maltese companies appear to have been largely dormant since they were set up seven months ago and both have yet to file any documents with the Malta Business Registry.

Cryptocurrency is a digital payment system that does not rely on banks to verify transactions. Instead, it uses a peer-to-peer system to verify authenticity.

According to the MFSA services register, there are just 15 Virtual Financial Assets (VFA) service providers registered under Maltese law.