Gambling Commission Invites Industry Input on Regulatory Burdens

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission is giving the British gambling industry the opportunity to put forward proposals to the regulator that can outline the burden of increased regulation.

The proposals can relate to current requirements or guidance which, due to the passage of time and other regulatory changes, no longer serve their intended purpose or could be streamlined. Proposals could relate directly to the Commission’s own Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, but can also relate to the wider industry landscape.

In its Business Plan for 2026-27, the Commission wrote:

“We intend to support consumer-focused innovation, ensuring consistency with regulatory requirements. Subject to resource, we will additionally review industry proposals to reduce regulatory administrative burdens and identify any proposals to amend regulations or improve the communication of them.

“This could involve provision of advice to government on measures that could be amended by means of legislation.”

The Commission will facilitate a discussion on reducing the burden of gambling regulation at the next Operators Engagement Forum on July 2, and any proposals put forward will be reviewed.

What’s off the table?

However, the Commission said there are certain types of proposals it would be unlikely to consider. These include live and current policy areas that have been subject to formal consultation and recent policy developments which have been subject to consultation.

The Commission also said this call for proposals should not be used to propose new or additional regulatory requirements related to the 2023 Gambling White Paper.

The White Paper was one of the most significant publications in the history of gambling in the UK, setting out more than 60 proposals to update the country’s gambling laws. Among the terms recommended were affordability checks, improved identification checks, a statutory levy, and a cap on the maximum stakes on online slots at £5 for older adults and £2 for younger adults.

While these measures among others have either been implemented or are in the process of being implemented, a number of terms are still to be rolled out.

These include reform at land-based venues, including cashless payments on machines, which is still in the rollout phase, as well as the introduction of a gambling ombudsman, which is yet to come to fruition.

With regards to affordability checks, light-touch vulnerability checks were initially triggered when a player spent £500 in a month as part of a trial that began in August 2024, and from February 28, 2025, this decreased to £150 spend in a month. The final stage of the rollout of affordability checks is yet to be announced.

Regulation trend

Increased regulation has been a common theme in the UK in recent years. In addition to the regulations within the White Paper, the industry has also had to brace itself for increased taxation.

From the start of April, remote gaming duty, paid on online casino bets, was raised from 21% of gross gambling yield (GGY) to 40%. There will also be rise in general betting duty, paid on online sports bets, which will go up from 15% of GGY to 25% in April 2027.

Separately, financial risk assessments (FRAs) have been proposed as a means of identifying high-spending remote gambling players who may be in financial difficulties.

The assessments would not look into a player’s income or how much an individual could afford to gamble. The Commission’s board met in May to discuss implementing FRAs, but decided more time is needed to complete its assessment on the matter.