What we regulate
New casino premises licences issued under the Act will fall into one of two categories namely large casino premises licence or small casino premises licence. Learn about the odds at various online casino games, including blackjack and roulette, and give yourself the best chance possible of winning money. Those licensees who want to utilise the new entitlements will have to apply to the relevant licensing authority to vary the premises licence, so the premises layout plan reflects changes in operation. Subject to the final Parliamentary procedures, the statutory instruments when approved will have the effect of adding new conditions to applicable non-remote casino premises licences seeking to take advantage of the new entitlements. The draft Casinos Regulations form part of a package of interlinked statutory instruments which amend the regulatory framework for land-based casinos.
In order to offer this, operators will be required to hold relevant operating licences from the Gambling Commission. The white paper set out the intention for all casinos to be able to include a sportsbook as part of their product offering. A further advantage would be allowing operators to create an experience which competes with international gaming jurisdictions, and elevates the reputation of Britain as a gaming destination for international gaming tourists. For example, it may lead to increased popularity/GGY of casinos which could have knock-on benefits to surrounding businesses or other sectors which are closely interlinked with it, for example the food and beverage or advertising sectors.
In the UK, the general legal gambling age is 18. The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is the official regulatory body overseeing gambling in Great Britain. Bingo and non gamestop casino lotteries are legal under UK law, with specific licences depending on scale and type. The UK has some of the strictest gambling laws in the world. If you want to complain about a gambling business or need further help please contact us.
From the early days of underground gambling dens to the modern era of licensed casinos, the UK has witnessed significant changes in the way casinos are regulated and operated. The ban took effect on 14 April 2020 and applies to nearly all online and land-based gambling establishments. Another measure aimed primarily at online operators is the ban on gambling with credit cards. All online casinos must participate in the multi-operator self-exclusion scheme GAMSTOP, the UKGC announced in January 2020.
Licensing: what a legal UK operator must hold
The Gambling Commission does not currently license crypto-primary casinos. Charged on remote gaming profits from UK customers. Alongside the financial-risk tiers above, operators must comply with the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 as amended. Name, address and date of birth are checked against electronic data; further documents (passport, driving licence, utility bill) are requested if the electronic check fails. Every UKGC-licensed operator must run tiered financial-risk checks on its customers.
The United Kingdom Gambling Commission also has rules that dictate how operators can advertise their platforms. The latest stipulation regarding the handling of player funds is just one of many licensing conditions the UKGC has put in place to ensure the safety of all players. The arrangements falling in the medium category include Quistclose accounts and insurance arrangements. Therefore, when you choose one of our recommended UK casino sites, you can ante-up safe in the knowledge that every game is fair and all your funds will be protected and insured by the UK government.
This includes all online casinos, both UK-based and offshore, that wish to offer their services to patrons in England, Wales, or Scotland. When it comes to gaming machines, however, the law sets no minimum age for Category D machines. Regional casinos are permitted to have up to 1,250 machines from Categories A, B, C, or D. Small casinos may offer up to 80 machines from Categories B, C, or D, whereas large casinos can host a maximum of 150 machines from those categories.
Additionally, the Commission’s research into why consumers gamble found that of the 14% of past month gamblers who reported binge gambling, 24% had done so on online slots — more than any other gambling activity, including online casino games (Figure 7 below). Some industry respondents viewed these as poorly targeted as they would apply to all consumers, including those not experiencing harm, so advocated for a greater emphasis on protections targeted towards individual accounts showing signs of risk. We therefore see merit in reducing the reliance on account-based harm reduction systems through universal measures to make the online gambling environment safer for all participants, with a particular focus on the products themselves and how they are designed. For operators, clearer obligations and greater confidence in the identity of the account user will support more effective prevention of harm, while closing off compliance risks around the prevention of illegal underage gambling and anti-money laundering due diligence.
Our initial headline impact estimate (see table below) for key proposals which we are able to quantify, is a potential drop of between 3% and 8% in commercial Gross Gambling Yield (with a drop in online GGY of 8% to 14% partially offset by a land-based increase of 2% to 5%). The proposals are targeted with the intent of minimising this unintended consequence, and the resultant costs to industry, to be proportionate to the objective of reducing harm. Because harmful gambling tends to involve elevated spend, our package of measures to prevent harm is likely to reduce the revenue of gambling companies.
We will work with the industry to create an ombudsman to adjudicate complaints and order redress when things go wrong. This white paper outlines a comprehensive package of new measures to achieve these objectives across all facets of gambling regulation, building on our work over recent years. What we will not permit is for operators to place commercial objectives ahead of customer wellbeing so that vulnerable people are exploited. Prevention of harm will always be better than a cure, so we are determined to strengthen consumer protections and prevent exploitative practices. We must also pay particular attention to making sure children are protected, including as they become young adults and for the first time are able to gamble on a wide range of products.
Permitted activities with the right licence
Today, casino online sites must make an application to the UKGC if they want to operate and advertise legally in the UK. While the UK Gambling Commission was previously tasked with regulating internet gambling sites based in the United Kingdom, the purview of their powers increased significantly. In November, 2014, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) became the controlling body for British iGaming and any operator wishing to serve residents were required to hold a valid gaming licence.
Similarly, the existing rigorous checks on sources of funds for operating licence applications ensure standards are not undermined. The regulator’s case-by-case contentment would be contingent on assurances that adopting cryptoassets would not pose any risks to compliance. As the ‘Key Event’ reporting requirements on operators extend to any changes to payment systems within 5 days, cryptoassets cannot be adopted as a way of accepting customer deposits without the Commission’s notice. Cryptoassets also have implications for operators balancing liabilities from open bets, and can be disadvantageous to consumers because of wait times and fees. There have been no instances of licensed operators making this declaration and accepting deposits directly in cryptoassets.
The minimum table gaming area for Small 2005 Act casinos, which is currently 500sqm, will be reduced to 250sqm to align the minimum space requirements for these different regimes. Land-based casinos, which provide employment and contribute to the night-time leisure and tourism economy, were like other sectors of that economy severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We also intend to permit a smaller increase in machines for venues that do not meet these size requirements, proportionate to overall size and non-gambling area. The white paper set out the government’s intention to bring the two regimes closer together, with similar requirements on machine numbers proportionate to size, non-gambling area and gaming tables.
- The maximum number of gaming machines that may be made available for use on the premises remains unchanged at 80.
- An “economic crime levy” is payable by entities that are regulated for anti-money laundering purposes (currently only casinos in the UK) and which generate more than £10.2 million in UK revenue.
- Casino operators are reminded that those wishing to utilise the new extended entitlements will need to inform the Commission under Licence Conditions and Code of Practice (LCCP) Ordinary Code Provision 8.1.1 (Information requirements).
The Behavioural Insights Team’s response to the consultation recommended that voluntary limits that are strongly encouraged are used over mandatory limits as the evidence of the impact of the latter is limited. The cooling-off period was also longer than industry submissions, with several respondents stating it should be 60 seconds or more. Respondents from the pub sector were in favour of voluntary limits over the mandatory limits but stated that if they were imposed, they should be consistent across the industry. The government’s preference is for a 30 second minimum cooling-off period, but we would be content with a longer minimum time period if evidence provided in response to the Gambling Commission’s consultation suggests that longer is needed in order to protect players.
The same principle would apply for in-fill machines and tablets. By contrast, industry responses argued that Option 2 would be highly restrictive for many operators and would overall provide less commercial flexibility than is currently available under the 80/20 ratio. This is a necessary objective to help mitigate against gambling-related harm. Therefore it is likely that increases in Category B machines will lead to slight increases in sessions with greater losses. In considering gambling-related harm we were attuned to the various perspectives provided by respondents.
Football Index was a novel betting platform that allowed customers to place bets on the future performance of footballers. In recent years, some products have started to blur the boundaries between gambling and investments or operators have marketed their platforms in such a way. Surrender of a licence means that an operator whose actions were causing concern is no longer able to offer services to customers in Great Britain, which may address the principal concern. In particular, it is concerned that licence holders are able to take action that can hinder or frustrate an investigation, including surrendering their licence during the course of the investigation.
The UK Gambling Commission’s mandate is to regulate gambling and oversee gaming law in Wales, Scotland, and England. Whether you gamble online or at a live casino, you can count on the UK Gambling Commission to keep you safe. Further information on these changes will be published as it becomes available on the Gambling Commission’s website and communicated to operators and licensing authorities.
In addition to failing to identify those suffering harm, respondents identified wider practices which might be detrimental to consumers, such as the profiling of customers and the restriction of winning accounts. Operators broadly argued in favour of these tailored controls, rather than measures which may limit the enjoyment of gambling for the majority of players who suffer no ill effects and may (if curtailed in their gambling) turn to unlicensed operators. Many operators were confident that their current and increasingly sophisticated harm detection algorithms would have prevented ‘historic cases’ where harm occurred without sufficient action. Given the Review’s focus on ensuring our gambling laws are fit for the digital age, it is unsurprising that a significant amount of evidence was submitted in response to the remote gambling questions in our call for evidence. When used in conjunction with self-exclusion, payment and website blocks can add a further layer of protection for people recovering from gambling harm.
They also highlighted the importance of card account verification given the potential for stolen debit cards to be used to make direct payments to gambling machines. They also stated that individual gambling businesses should be allowed to decide if they would like to update their systems to provide direct debit card payments as it would be a significant cost to businesses to update all machines to have this functionality. We expect that operators will ensure that Category C and D machines made available to meet the ratio are available for use and have genuine customer appeal. We received some responses which suggested that Option 1 would be preferable to Option 2(a) for ensuring that a genuine offer of Category C and D machines are made available to customers. In respect of ensuring that customers receive a genuine offer of Category C and D machines, Option 2 is the only option which we believe would achieve this objective better than Option 2(a). These responses were strongly opposed to Option 2(a) and Option 2(b) on the grounds that the ratios proposed place too much emphasis on achieving commercial flexibility for businesses at the expense of mitigating against risks of gambling-related harm.
It is possible that there will be wider costs if the increase in fees means that existing premises are unable to afford their total fees and close down as a result, or if new premises decide not to open due to the higher fees. We also require a better understanding of how licensing authorities will amend their fees in response to an increase in the maximum fee cap. We assume that licensing authorities will increase their current charged fees in proportion with the increase in the maximum fee cap. This would potentially generate an additional £2,340,000 in total annual funding for local authorities and increase average annual costs per premises by £251.
Behavioural barriers and friction should only be used to keep customers safe rather than impede them from taking decisions. This is consistent with the Commission’s rules for clear and accessible terms and conditions and the regulator will monitor operators’ compliance in this area. It is important that customers are made aware of the circumstances in which such restrictions may be applied and provided with explanations where it does occur. Tools like deposit limits can help people gamble within their means, but may be underused and not widely optimised for harm prevention. We will also consult on measures to give greater protections for 18 to 24-year-olds who the evidence suggests may be a particularly vulnerable cohort.
Consultation responses included views from industry, academics, treatment providers and individuals. Responding to evidence, a lower level stake limit for young adults aged years old will be set at £2 per spin. In August 2026, a survey conducted by GamblingNews.uk found that 68% of Brits believe bookmakers sometimes “use anti-money laundering and responsible gambling checks as pretexts to void winning bets or delay payouts”.