Organization, basis of presentation and liquidity (Details Textual) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended				1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 06, 2012 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 26, 2012 GBP (£)	Mar. 21, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Medicsights [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Medicsights [Member]	Dec. 06, 2012 Medicsights [Member]	Mar. 26, 2012 Medicsights [Member] GBP (£)	Mar. 31, 2012 Mgt [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Mgt Gaming [Member] USD ($)
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.001			£ 16,250.000	$ 0.001	$ 0.001				£ 0.05
Stockholders' Equity, Reverse Stock Split							1 for 25	1-for-325,000			Reverse/Forward Split of the Company's Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share at an exchange ratio of 1-for-500 shares of the Company's outstanding Common Stock, immediately followed by a forward split of the Company's outstanding Common Stock, at an exchange ratio of 15-for-1 shares of the Company's outstanding Common Stock.
Number Of Shares Cancelled Result Of Reverse Stock Split				325,000
Stock Purchase Plan Description	Subsequent to March 26, 2012, and through December 31, 2012, MGT acquired an additional 160 shares of Medicsight Ltd's ordinary shares, 67 ordinary shares were acquired for cash consideration of $51 and 93 ordinary shares were acquired in exchange for 93,000 shares of the Company's Common stock with a fair value of $418.
Cash in lieu of fractional shares for MGT reverse/ forward split (in shares)							25
Accumulated deficit	$ (283,631)					$ (280,027)
Restricted cash	2,039					0						49
Equity Investment Number Of Shares Held								318
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage			66.50%						100.00%
Shares, Issued			478
Reverse Stock Split Cash Payment Made		16
Business Combination, Separately Recognized Transactions, Expenses and Losses Recognized	33
Business Acquisition Accrued Expenses	$ 18