Gambling Commission Wikipedia
Gambling Commission Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice already contain requirements in both the land-based and online sectors that information about the odds of winning is disclosed to players of certain games at the point of purchase. We recognise that expanding adtech targeting commitments to paid-for space may make it harder to reach some potential customers but paid-for online advertising will still be permitted alongside many other routes to attracting customers, such as broadcast or appropriately targeted social media advertising. For those who are struggling with harmful gambling, we want to make it as straightforward as possible to opt out of gambling content and advertising, and to close the gaps that mean that individuals who have self-excluded can still be targeted by gambling ads. Children’s advertising exposure and their ability to engage with operators’ content should decrease at the same time as the most recent reforms to the CAP code reduce the potential appeal of gambling content to children. We believe these proposals will result in an online advertising environment that is safer for children and vulnerable people, while still allowing operators to continue to engage with key audiences.
However, between 2005 and 2021, just 112 studies with a focus that included gambling were funded by UK Research Councils or the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) compared with 691 for alcohol. The scope of the issues covered by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are most relevant to gambling as a topic. As with all fields of research, qualified researchers from universities and other organisations such as businesses and charities can apply directly to UKRI to fund research on gambling.
Data provided for a London casino over a four-week period in October 2019 showed a clear correlation between average dwell time and occupancy rates. Casino licences originate from two legislative regimes – the Gaming Act 1968 and the Gambling Act 2005. In order to ensure local authorities can continue to carry out their licensing and enforcement duties effectively, we are proposing to raise this cap by either 10%, 20% or 30%. We are also seeking views and evidence on what the impact would be if the 80/20 rule were to be removed completely.
Energy costs per machine will be estimated in the final stage impact assessment using an energy calculator. A more detailed estimate of the impact for each option will be presented in the final stage impact assessment, once further data has been collected. This increase is expected to be higher under Option 1 than Option 2, as operators will not be restricted by device constraints. Data on net expenditure per session shows that from April to September 2019, the vast majority of sessions across all machine categories ended in the player either winning money or losing up to £20. A ‘mixed session’ is a single session that takes place on games of different machine categories. Unlike Option 1, it would be much more difficult for an operator to increase the number of B3 cabinets on their premises by increasing the number of Category C or D in-fills and tablets that they site.
Some individual operators have also voluntarily introduced bespoke protections for this group in other areas. In 2021, the Betting and Gaming Council introduced a code of conduct for VIP schemes, which included additional checks before enrolling customers aged 18 to 24 onto schemes, for example requiring review by the holder of a Gambling Commission Personal Management Licence. A recent cross-sectional research study found an association between suicide attempts in 16 to 24-year-olds and problem gambling, even after adjustment for other factors.
Getting a licence
Several operators claim they are holding on to players longer because clearer rules and a safer environment build trust. Public-health groups mostly cheer the rules, but many operators say the new tech adds cost and shakes up tried-and-true business models. Larger operators are now pooling resources in head office compliance units and leaning on automated identity checks to keep up with the rising paperwork.
- We note that there may also be a small reduction in sports betting online due to this measure causing spend to be displaced.
- Kits without sponsor logos to be ensured for athletes aged under 18 or adults who have religious or health reasons to object to wearing gambling sponsors; and replica kits without logos to be available in adult sizes.
- 1968 Act casinos which do not meet these size requirements will also be able to benefit from extra machines on a pro rata basis commensurate with their size.
- The whole idea is to strictly limit how much cash can be lost on slot machines and to ensure people are not blowing through their bankroll very quickly.
- Local authorities (for Premises Licences).Sports/horse race betting (if regulated separately to other forms of betting)As above.As above.Fantasy betting (payment to back a ‘league’ or ‘portfolio’ selection over a period of time, for example in relation to sport)As above.As above.LotteriesLotteriesThe Gambling Commission.The Gambling Commission (for Operating Licences).
Sector overview
While the history of the voluntary funding system and the existence of the levy power mean research, education and treatment for gambling are often considered together, the issues are in fact often distinct. One operator suggested that while they did not support a mandatory levy, there would be merit in improving the transparency of contributions made by operators. This has led to a significant increase in the money available in the voluntary system, with some other operators also increasing contributions. In July 2019, following meetings with the then DCMS Secretary of State, five major operators (now four due to mergers) committed to increase their annual contributions from 0.1% to 1%, in incremental steps over a four-year period. GambleAware historically asked operators to give 0.1% of their Gross Gambling Yield to provide an income of c.£9-10 million. Ultimately, it will provide the resources the Commission needs to regulate the industry efficiently and effectively.
As much of the risk relates to online gambling, we propose that people aged 18 to 24 should have lower trigger points for the enhanced spending checks outlined in Section 1.2, and our consultation on online slot stakes will include options for extra protections for this group (Section 1.3). However, the evidence shows that people aged 18 to 24 years old are generally more vulnerable to gambling-related harms than the wider population. These usually entail a more sensitive calibration of player monitoring systems to detect harm, but some operators take more direct action, for example requiring customers aged 18 to 24 to set their own deposit limit before they are permitted to gamble or unilaterally implementing a mandatory maximum loss limit.
All stakeholders recognise the potential for a so-called single customer view (SCV) to tackle this risk. Customers’ ability to swap to another account risks undermining the effectiveness of an individual operator’s safeguarding interventions. Likely impacts are explored in more detail in Annex A of this white paper, and the Commission will give further consideration to impacts, including the potential for any unintended consequences, through its detailed consultation. The Data Protection and Digital Information (No .2) Bill, currently before Parliament, includes some important clarifications to the rules around lawful processing and the circumstances in which personal data collected for one purpose can be used for other purposes, which should make the law clearer in this area. We will also make sure consumers’ financial lives are not impacted through these checks, with credit scores being unaffected and potentially adverse consequences of reciprocal data sharing avoided. We recognise these proposals have significant implications for collection and handling of sensitive consumer data, raising important questions around privacy, data protection, proportionality, data accuracy, and reciprocal data sharing.
The Commission is also dealing with an increase in the number of novel products from both licensed and unlicensed operators, with many blurring the line between gambling and other markets such as financial investment and video games. The Commission’s regulation of commercial gambling is funded from fees charged for licences and permits, which are set in secondary legislation by the DCMS Secretary of State at a level that is intended to recover the full costs of regulating the gambling market. It is responsible for issuing gambling operating licences as well as personal licences for individuals performing specific functions within businesses.
If licensing authorities do not feel like they have the powers they need, we would like to know whether any changes could be made to the regulatory framework to address this issue. Therefore, we would like to understand whether licensing authorities consider that they have the powers they need to ensure that the current rules can be adequately enforced. Data was also provided on the increase in session times at busy periods in a 1968 Act casino, compared to a 2005 Act casino of comparable size.
More generally, the Commission is known to issue cease and desist letters, carry out test purchasing, take steps to disrupt payment flows and engaging with search engines to prevent URLs belonging to unlicensed operators appearing in search results. For instance, the Commission has demonstrated a willingness to initially engage with those that operate (without a licence) offerings that have hints of licensable products before requesting that such entity either apply for and obtain a licence or prevent consumers in Great Britain from accessing such offering, whilst making clear that to continue doing so may amount to an offence under the Gambling Act 2005. Substantial fines have been imposed, individuals have been sanctioned pursuant to their “personal management licences” and licences have been suspended. The British regulatory authorities have taken something of a global lead in the enforcement of regulation, particularly in relation to “source of wealth” and “proceeds of crime” omissions and also failures in social responsibility obligations owed by operators to players. That said, non-gambling services are generally carved out of this wide net – payment processing, marketing affiliates and other ancillary services such as fraud prevention and age verification are per se not regarded as “gambling”.
Last month, the Gambling Commission fined William Hill over £19 million for failures including allowing a customer to spend £23,000 in just 20 minutes. If gambling stops being fun, use one of the free independent services below. Independent UK casino reviews and regulatory guides. NHS-funded assessment and treatment, including the National Problem Gambling Clinic. Independent charity providing safer-gambling information and tools.
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We support allowing trials of linked gaming machines in venues other than casinos, where prizes could accrue from machines linked in a community. The government is also concerned by the low pass rates in test purchasing for racecourses and gaming machines in alcohol licensed premises, which are both significantly lower than at other land-based venues. This would provide licensing authorities with greater powers in respect of gaming machine entitlements in premises with alcohol licences, in the event of underage gambling.
Branded ‘safer gambling’ ad spots containing calls to action such as ‘enjoy award-winning online casino safely’ were also heavily criticised. Most responses to our call for evidence agreed that awareness-raising campaigns have a role to play in mitigating gambling-related harms, but there was a lack of consensus on the most appropriate way to design and implement them. However, this effect was more pronounced amongst participants not at risk of gambling-related harms, and those in the ‘moderate risk’ and ‘problem gambler’ categories had significantly lower comprehension scores overall. It was also suggested that point of purchase messaging could also be used to communicate a wider range of risks including potential health harms. However, many respondents to our call for evidence thought this was inadequate to ensure informed consumption of potentially risky gambling products, particularly high volatility slots games. In addition, the distinct responsibilities and activities of affiliates would require an entirely new licensing regime to be created; and the size of the sector means that it would distort the Commission’s remit, which concentrates on gambling operators themselves.
8.9% of respondents felt that their gambling had ‘at least some of the time’ caused financial problems for them or their household. This has led the regulator and many others to conclude that more prescriptive requirements are needed to strengthen protections for customers and set clear expectations for companies. Nonetheless, this is a potentially concerning pattern in a sector with a known addiction risk, and where a key manifestation of that addiction is high spending. The range of estimates submitted to our call for evidence suggest that (ignoring accounts which net win), around a quarter of Gross Gambling Yield is derived from 1% of accounts, approximately 60% comes from the highest spending 5%, and around 75% from non gamestop casino the top 10%, although this varies by product. This distribution means that operator revenue is predominantly derived from a relatively small cohort of high spending customers.
The majority of these respondents argued for measures which tended to be more restrictive of the gambling products available within the land-based sector. In general, responses received from gambling industry respondents typically argued for the most liberalised position across the range of measures outlined in the consultation. We received 87 responses to the land-based gambling consultation. DCMS has commissioned a third party, Qualtrics, to collect your personal data on its behalf.
If gambling is causing you concern, visit our responsible gambling UK guide for support resources. If a casino breaches the rules and you are affected, complain to the casino first. The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is the sole statutory body responsible for enforcing all UK casino regulations 2026. The table below shows the most significant rule changes introduced by the our tested operators compared to the previous framework. For the best current offers, visit our best casino bonuses UK page, or check no deposit bonus UK deals that comply with the new rules.
However, the intended objective is to allow customers to pay by the means they prefer and preserve the viability of the gaming machine sector which is at risk of being eroded by the move to a “cashless” society. This standard applies to feasible B3 gaming machines and provides players with a 30 second cooling-off period once voluntary limits are hit. In order to slow the speed of direct cashless transactions and provide a break in play, the government proposes that there should be a minimum transaction time for players making direct cashless payment transactions on gaming machines. What should the maximum transaction value be for direct cashless payments on gaming machines?
