GB Operators Paid 68% Less in Fines in 2024/25; 24 Companies Fined

British regulator the Gambling Commission took significantly less from fines and regulatory settlements with operators in 2024/25 compared with the previous four years, although the number of operators contributing to the total was up from the previous year.

In its annual report, the Commission said it took enforcement action against 24 operators between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, leading to £4.2 million in fines or regulatory settlements. These provide mixed statistics, as in 2023/24, 19 operators were fined by the Commission, paying a total of £13.4 million in fines and regulatory settlements.

This shows that while more operators were found to have committed offences, they were perhaps for less serious offences on the whole. The number collected from fines and regulatory settlements has come down to a large degree since 2022/23, when £60.1 million was collected from a total of 24 operators. However, that number was a slight anomaly in the context of the last five years.

What the last five years tells us

When looking at the statistics from the last five years reported, it is particularly striking how the total collected from fines and regulatory settlements has fallen from earlier in the decade, but the number of operators paying into that total has generally not declined. While the total collected can depend on the specific types of offences committed in a certain year, there is a clear downward trend in the past two years.

Compliance is up

The Commission also noted its operations directorate made progress in the last year, with more than 9,700 compliance activities undertaken, up significantly from 4,200 in the previous year. The increase in compliance activities would not necessarily indicate the reason for less money being paid in fines, but that could potentially impact the number of operators committing offences in the coming years.

Affordability checks implemented

A key focus of the last year for the Commission was implementing the terms of the 2023 Gambling White Paper. One of the standout terms in the White Paper, which laid out a number of gambling reforms, was regarding affordability checks. A pilot scheme ran for six months from August 2024, where light touch vulnerability checks were initially triggered when a player spent £500 in a month.

From February 28, 2025, this decreased to £150 spend in a month. This was higher than the White Paper’s suggestion of £125 in a month or £500 in a year. Enhanced checks are triggered when a player makes a net spend of £1,000 within 24 hours and £2,000 within 90 days.

Lottery focus going forward

Elsewhere in the report, the Commission outlines its five main areas of strategic focus for the period from 2024 to 2027: using data and analytics to make gambling regulation more effective; enhancing core operational functions; setting clear, evidence-based requirements for licensees; being proactive and addressing issues at the earliest opportunity; and regulating a successful National Lottery.

In 2024, the National Lottery turned 30 years old, and shortly before the start of the 2024/25 period, Allwyn International took over the running of the lottery from Camelot, which had operated the lottery since its inception in 1994.

This could likely be something the Commission will have to keep tabs on going forward, with recent reports suggesting Allwyn is set to spend around £500 million in an attempt to overhaul the National Lottery’s IT systems, having initially planned to spend £250 million on the project when it took over the running of the lottery in February 2024.