UK Gambling Laws 2026: Complete Player

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.

Player Protections Under UKGC Licensing

The Gambling Act 2005 defines a casino as an arrangement whereby people are given an opportunity to participate in one or more casino games. The white paper set out the government’s plans for modernising the non gamstop sites regulation of the gambling sector.

Perhaps the largest day-to-day change centers on data transparency and affordability. The UK government’s shake-up of gambling rules, first promised in early 2023, is now done and dusted thanks to a phased roll-out in 2024 and 2025. Well, spotlight the sections still feeling the most pressure and show how guides, including the updated one on our site, are stepping in to keep punters informed in the new scene. Including information on how we carry out assessments, your responsibilities under the LCCP and our new sector guides with detailed guidance and policies by the sectors we licence. In July 2026, the Gambling Commission faced backlash for newly announced affordability and responsible gambling checks, which critics described as « rushed, flawed and hugely problematic ».

• Where operators breach these rules, they are subject to compliance and enforcement action by the Gambling Commission and consumer complaints are an important source of intelligence to inform this.
• The implications for operating and premises licence fees, bringing 1968 Act casinos in line with existing fee scales for 2005 Act casinos, are also discussed later in this chapter.
• If this proportion was representative across all casinos, then total casino sector GGY could increase by approximately £1.3 million.
• 1968 Act licences can move premises within a licensing authority (with agreement from the licensing authority), whereas 2005 Act licences cannot once they have been allocated to specific locations.

The 2023 White Paper triggered the biggest round of gambling law changes since the Gambling Act 2005. These are the milestones that still shape gambling policy and oversight today. British gambling legislation has been rewritten several times since 1960, usually when technology outgrew the old rules.

A common theme in these responses was the need for a ‘precautionary’ approach to the regulation of advertising, arguing that the absence of evidence of harm must not be treated as evidence of an absence of harm. The differences in regulation for gambling advertising in broadcast and online channels are particularly noteworthy. Although the IGRG code is an industry code, compliance with it can be considered alongside compliance with the Gambling Commission’s own rules when the regulator is assessing an operator’s suitability to hold a licence. The code bans most broadcast gambling advertising before 9pm, with the exception of bingo and lotteries, and sports betting advertising in the build up to and after (but not during) a live sporting event. Additionally, the trade bodies representing the gambling industry have developed the Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising (‘IGRG Code’), which was last updated in October 2020. The Gambling Commission also sets some specific rules on how gambling operators advertise through its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice.

Currently, both types of slot-style machines can legally be played by under-18s. ‘Cash-out’ slot-style machines have a maximum stake of 10p and a maximum prize of £5, while ‘ticket-out’ slot-style machines have a maximum stake of 30p and an equivalent of a prize worth up to £8. There are two types of Category D slot-style machines, one that pays out a small amount of cash, and one that pays out tickets which can be exchanged for a small prize, toy or sweet. Category D machines are typically played by families and children and are usually found in seaside arcades, family entertainment centres (FECs) and unlicensed FECs.

Gaining access to gambling from 18 years of age also coincides with an important developmental and social period in many adolescents’ lives, typically characterised by new freedoms and responsibilities, such as starting university, getting a job, living independently, and/or managing money for the first time. There is data to show that 27% of gamblers aged between 16 and 25 report friends encouraging them to gamble more money/more often. Further, some call for evidence respondents cited neurological research showing cognitive development continuing up to the age of 25 and argued that protective measures should reflect the fact that young adults may still be developing capacity to regulate impulses and make more rational decisions. However, there is growing evidence that younger adults may benefit from greater protection than other groups.

Beyond messaging at the point of purchase, the approach taken to safer gambling messaging in advertising since 2005 has predominantly been a self-regulatory one, with the industry funding, designing and delivering its own campaigns. This evidence suggests that a simplified approach to communicating cost-of-play information could be more impactful and reduce harm compared to the currently permitted ‘return to player’ approach. Greater comprehension of the odds was also linked to fewer participants choosing to play, and other research led by Dr Philip Newall has shown including a volatility statement can lower gambling expenditure. Poker machines are programmed to pay out less than you put into them, so the odds are you will lose…The longer you play a poker machine, the more likely you are to lose all the money you have put in the machine. The industry is carrying out its own research in this area, with a project launched through the BGC’s Game Design working group looking at best practice for communicating material information on slot games, including chances of winning and payout volatility, at the point of purchase.

Impact Assessments

You are required to tell us about certain things that happen in your business, these are dependent on the licences and activities you hold. Including information on how we carry out assessments, your responsibilities under the LCCP and other gambling-related legislation. Guidance and information for running a compliant gambling business.

Firstly, much of the available data on children being able to access age restricted forms of gambling comes from their own self-reporting which may be unreliable. However, evidence suggests that some children are still able to participate in gambling which they should be barred from. It should create a clear distinction between gambling products for adults and lower risk products for children which have non-cash prizes or (like a penny pusher) are entirely unlike an adult gambling product. Although we will consult further on the details of our proposal above, slot machines in FECs  which are legally adult-only (Category C machines) are required to be in a segregated part of the venue to prevent children accessing those machines. Category D machines which do not pay out cash will not be subject to the increase in the minimum age to play. We welcome Bacta’s voluntary commitment, but to ensure all operators comply with it, we propose to move that requirement into legislation, making the legal minimum age to play cash-out Category D slot machine style games 18 years old.

In addition to the written submissions sent to DCMS, we have considered a number of other sources of evidence. During the call for evidence period, we also noted a number of submissions from members of the public which came as part of coordinated campaigns on various specific issues. For example, 97.5% of respondents expressed their view that all gambling advertising should be banned, while 83.2% of the respondents said they would like to see the age limits for gambling increased above 18. Overall, the submissions from members of 38 Degrees demonstrated a generally negative view of gambling. Additionally, we note that these individual responses are far shorter and typically do not provide as much detailed evidence as the submissions sent directly to DCMS.

The House of Lords Select Committee report recommended in 2020 that casinos should be regulated under the same system regardless of when their licence was created. It was intended that the 2005 Act licences would be taken up and, subject to evaluation, more created, and perhaps that the 1968 Act casinos would be phased out or move over to the 2005 Act system. A regional casino, which could have 1000+ machines with unlimited stakes and prizes, was provided for in the Act but the secondary legislation never passed. The Gambling Act 2005 provided for a new concept of casino, with a small number of two types of licence created, known as Large and Small 2005 Act casinos.

However, some betting shop operators were aligned with the non-industry responses and believed that the session time and net position should be displayed at all times. We propose that Category D machines are not required to display safer gambling messaging beyond the current requirements placed on these machines. The government proposes that the existing safer gambling messaging is used on machines that accept cashless payments. Some industry responses also argued that members of staff in casinos already monitor players and interact where appropriate.

The Casino Club Port Talbot in Wales – believed to be Britain’s first legal casino – was established in 1961 by gambling mogul George Alfred James. In July 2026, UK ministers began a crackdown on unlicensed casinos sponsoring sports teams. By introducing a new regulatory framework, the Gambling Act replaced outdated provisions from the Gaming Act of 1968, adapting to the evolving landscape of the gambling industry. The regulation of gambling in the UK underwent significant changes with the passage of the Gambling Act 2005, marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of casino regulations.

The cross-industry submission from the Cashless Group cited evidence of technological change and developments in consumer behaviour over recent years to support its argument that enabling cashless payments would meet consumer expectations. If a wider range of games were to be permitted, limits would need to be set on the total number of automated machines to minimise the impact of this change. They propose that new games would be subject to the same player protection measures applied to existing play in casinos. Betting is currently only permitted in 2005 Act casinos, which were intended to offer a wider variety of products as part of the destination casino model. Travel restrictions in the UK and overseas have compounded the impact of COVID-related closures for the high-end casinos, which competes with jurisdictions such as Monaco, Singapore and Macau rather than mainstream British venues.

If you are a local authority/ licensing board, how many premises licence applications did you receive in the 22/23 financial year? We expect that wider benefits will arise from the increase in oversight and enforcement activity by licensing authorities of gambling premises in their area and are seeking further information to better understand these benefits. The primary cost of this measure is the additional costs incurred by gambling operators resulting from the increased licensing fees. Note that the different fees currently charged for large and small casinos may be subject to review and harmonisation following the consultation outlined in Chapter 1. The Gambling (Premises Licence Fees) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 established the maximum level of fees that local authorities in England and Wales can charge for gambling premises licences. This activity may include inspecting gambling premises to ensure that they are complying with their licence or dealing with complaints from residents or neighbours.

The white paper indicated that we would expect industry to strictly adhere to this ratio and we would set out detailed requirements in further consultation. We welcome further evidence on the unmet consumer demand in the consultation response. A number of premises, particularly those located in motorway service stations, chose to retain their existing entitlements. Please explain your answer, including an alternative proposal for SSBT entitlements where applicable. Do you agree with the proposed entitlements for Self-Service Betting Terminals (SSBTs) based on the sliding scale? Casinos that are currently permitted to offer betting may site a maximum of 40 Self-Service Betting Terminals (SSBTs).

Industry submissions put forward a range of proposals for changes to the rules that could allow the sector to develop and thus support the Review’s objective of ensuring the regulatory landscape for land-based gambling reflected changes since 2005. The Act embedded a principle that gambling should generally take place in gambling-specific premises as opposed to places where it would be incidental to the establishment’s primary purpose, such as cafes or taxi offices. The fees must be set on a cost recovery basis to cover the cost of administration and enforcement (e.g. inspections), and are therefore essential to ensure that licensing authorities can properly regulate gambling in their areas. Scottish Ministers also have the power to set application and annual fees for premises licences, which differ from the fees set out for England and Wales, set out in the Gambling (Premises Licence Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2007.

With increased resources in due course, the Commission plans to invest in its data systems in order to better understand consumer behaviour and operator compliance. It is supported by existing powers in the Gambling Act for the Commission to make data requests as part of its regulatory activities. It has indicated, including in a speech by its Chief Executive to the GambleAware conference in 2021, that repeated failings are an aggravating factor and tougher action will be taken against repeat offenders.

Its proceeds will be ring-fenced for funding for research, education and treatment, including through the NHS. As it stands not all betting companies pay their fair share and some have paid as little as £1. The first statutory gambling operator levy will replace the current voluntary levy which is not fit for purpose.