Types of operating licence

UK Gambling Commission Updates: What Players and Operators Need to Know

For instance, evidence provided by Bacta shows that the average stake placed on a Category B3 game is between £1.20 – £1.30, compared to 40p – 60p for a Category C machine. In response to these challenges, the white paper committed to changing the 80/20 rule to 50/50 to better meet the needs of industry and demands of customers. The Gambling Commission will also consult on appropriate player protections non gamestop casinos that should be required on these machines. The main theme that emerged from industry was that the current rule does not allow operators to meet consumer demand.

This includes lotteries, betting on sports and horse races, bingo, as well as gaming machines at pubs and land-based casinos. We do not see this as being an issue for operators or manufacturers as it is already widely available on Category B gaming machines within all land-based gambling premises. While it is acknowledged that the risk of gambling harm may increase somewhat following a transition to 50/50, the stipulation outlined in Option 2 would ensure that operators offer a balance of higher and lower stake gaming machines.

There has never been an express statutory prohibition on the use of cryptocurrency in UK-licensed gambling. The Gambling Commission is exploring a potential pathway for licensed operators to accept cryptocurrency as a payment method representing a significant policy development. Operators must be able to evidence that controls are effective in practice, embedded in day-to-day operations and reviewed regularly for continued suitability. Holding a Gambling Commission licence requires more than documented policies.

However, this is based on smaller sample sizes than the data in Figure 3 and on the PGSI mini screen rather than all 9 questions above. Figure 3 shows the best available data on population problem gambling rates, which have remained broadly steady around or below 1% for over 20 years. Overall, the PHE evidence review found that the highest rates of gambling participation are reported among people who have higher academic qualifications, are employed, are relatively less deprived, and who reported better general psychological health and high life satisfaction.

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.

So in common with the previous legislation, there has been a recognition that consent will not always be the appropriate basis for data processing. Consent is one way to comply with GDPR, but the new law provides five other ways of processing data that may be more appropriate than consent. The rules around consent only apply if a business is relying on consent as its basis to process personal data. One example of this is the myth that “data can only be processed if an organisation has explicit consent to do so”.

The personal information we collect and process is the data provided to us directly by you in the responses to this consultation. This notice sets out how DCMS will use your personal data as part of our legal obligations with regard to data protection. For the purposes of personal data collected in the course of this consultation, DCMS is the data controller.

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.

The evidence illustrated that while there have been recent instances of bad practice in casework, the risks posed to consumers are not fundamental to white label arrangements themselves. Importantly, while third parties typically undertake a range of peripheral tasks related to the gambling offer (e.g. marketing, data storage, age verification, due diligence checks, customer interaction), only the licensee may provide “facilities for gambling”. Respondents were also divided on the presence of ‘white label’ gambling brands in sports sponsorship as a means to target overseas customers. If the licensee falls short of the Commission’s expectation to conduct due diligence before entering into a white label arrangement, they may proceed unaware of regulatory risks which would have been identified by the Commission had the third-party partner applied for a licence itself. Some concerns have been raised that ‘white labels’ amount to ‘hiring out’ of a gambling licence to companies (potentially in other jurisdictions) that would unlikely be suitable to hold a British licence in their own right. This arrangement can enable an established licensee to partner with a third-party brand to attract new customers to their gambling offer.

The equalising of these machine types may come at significant costs for some businesses. Bacta have argued, however, that the benefits to operators would not be as substantial as those outlined in Option 1. A 50/50 ratio based on device types would therefore be likely to have a positive impact, allowing them to remove a number of energy intensive Category C cabinets. Data provided by the Bingo Association, based on 60 percent of bingo halls, indicates that the number of Category B to Category C and D cabinets would remain largely unchanged from the current 80/20 regime. Data provided by industry indicates that this option would achieve to a limited extent the objective of ensuring commercial flexibility.

Types of operating licence

When the 2005 Act was passed, licensees under the 1968 Act could apply to convert those permissions into premises licences under the 2005 Act. The sections below set out some of the main features of land-based gambling settings alongside an explanation of the rules and particular characteristics of that type of gambling activity. In principle, subject to privacy requirements, they could also provide a central architecture which would allow operators to track play and bring in safer gambling measures. Apps are also available which allow customers to pay for machine games indirectly via a debit card or bank transfer, while keeping track of their spend. There is less scope for monitoring via account-based play, which can help to protect consumers, than in online settings as considered in Chapter 1 above.

Major reform of gambling laws to protect vulnerable users in smartphone era

All operators must also adhere to our Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). Our guidance summarises the legal background and legislation which operators must follow to be compliant. The NRA sets out the key money laundering and terrorist financing risks for the UK. HM Treasury and the Home Office have published the national risk assessment (NRA) of money laundering and terrorist financing 2020 (opens in new tab).

1968 Act casinos will be entitled to an enhanced gaming machine entitlement if their gambling area is at least 280sqm. 1968 Act casinos with a gambling area of at least 280sqm will be able to exercise the increased gaming machine entitlements shown in Figure 3. For example, a casino with two premises licences that meets the size and physical separation requirements could site 160 machines – more than a Large 2005 Act casino. Where 1968 Act casinos are smaller than these requirements, we have proposed that they are able to benefit from an increased number of machines on a pro rata basis commensurate with their size and non-gambling area, and subject to the same ratio. The number of gaming products that land-based casinos can provide will always be constrained by physical space in a way that online casinos are not, but this is made worse by the existing caps on numbers.

One registration blocks your accounts across every UKGC-licensed gambling site for your chosen period of six months, one year, or five years. The caps apply to online slots only, not to table games such as roulette or blackjack. Regulatory action is published openly, and repeat offenders face escalating consequences up to licence loss. Penalties range from financial fines to criminal prosecution, and they apply to operators, affiliates, and marketing partners alike. The UK Gambling Commission has broad powers to enforce gambling laws and monitor operator compliance.

We cannot predict the extent to which data sharing will influence the impact of financial checks at this stage since key implementation details are still subject to consultation (e.g. the data shared and the triggers for sharing it). Similarly, we assume CRAs can provide frictionless enhanced checks for 80% of customers who hit the enhanced spending check thresholds, with half the remainder subject to semi-agreeable checks (e.g. open banking) and the other half (10% of all those who hit the higher thresholds) subject to disagreeable checks. However, many people will simply complete the checks and no concerns would be raised, so for those individuals (as long as they are not showing other signs of harm) spending would not necessarily decrease. We used this as the best available data, but are aware that some features of the market have changed since 2019 (e.g. new player protections). The data underlying our modelling is the data tables produced as part of the Patterns of Play (PoP) research.

On the other hand, the position taken by the ASA in its regulation of gambling advertising is that gambling is already normalised as a legitimate leisure activity for adults in Great Britain. Many responses from those with personal experience reported how harm can be intensified by ad targeting and direct marketing, and that even with self-exclusion tools in place which prevent direct marketing, the exposure to marketing elsewhere could nonetheless be triggering, especially during recovery. The responses we received particularly emphasised that regardless of the form of advertising, it can have much stronger, and adverse, impacts on those who are already experiencing problems with gambling.

• To achieve this, we are consulting on options for amending the 80/20 rule to a new requirement that 50 percent of machines must be Category C or D.
• Please upload any further supporting evidence that you wish to share.
• Bacta, which represents the amusement and gaming machine industry in the UK, have an existing voluntary commitment for their members to ban all under-18s from playing Category D ‘cash-out’ machines.
• The government will allow direct debit card payments on gaming machines through a made negative statutory instrument, which will also include some of the player protection measures outlined in this chapter, such as the account verification requirement for each transaction.
• They are a significant part of land-based gambling, constituting 51% of non-remote Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) in 2022.
• The UKGC’s purpose is to regulate all commercial gambling enterprises in the UK in conjunction with the proper licensing authorities.

Despite support among consumers and some licensees, the proposal was not technically feasible at the time, since online retailers could not access verified cardholder details when processing a payment. Safeguarding against this risk through regulatory change will benefit both parties and reduce the burden on public services. Specifically, there are currently no provisions to verify that payment information used by online gamblers matches the account holder’s identity. Once we are satisfied, the Commission will consult on any outstanding details and on requiring all remote operators to integrate with the system. Following the ICO’s report, the government and the Gambling Commission challenged industry to start trialling solutions as a matter of urgency.

Additionally, it advises the government and local authorities on various gambling-related issues and may recommend amendments to the current legislative framework. The agency has investigative powers and may prosecute illegal gambling operations. The UKGC has no authority over spread betting, which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. On 1 October 2013 the National Lottery Commission was abolished, and its responsibilities – including monitoring and regulating the National Lottery – were transferred to the Gambling Commission.

This suggests most customers do not spend above levels which would be usual in other leisure sectors, although personal circumstances on whether these losses are acceptable will vary. The Patterns of Play research commissioned by GambleAware found that between July 2018 and July 2019, 21% of accounts made a net gain, 60% lost less than £200, 13% lost between £200 and £1,000, 5% lost between £1,000 and £5,000, and around 1% lost more that £5,000 (see Figure 5 below). This was part of a broader sentiment across some respondents that consumers needed to be better empowered in their dealings with remote gambling products and companies.

The Commission issues licences to gambling operators, can levy fines and revoke licences, and is tasked with investigating and prosecuting illegal gambling. In October 2020, the Commission published the results of an investigation of BGO, GAN, and NetBet, three UK online gambling operators. In March 2020, the UKGC made it mandatory for online gambling operators to participate in the self-exclusion scheme GamStop. It is also responsible for remote gambling which includes betting online, by telephone and other communication devices using the equipment, that offer or advertise services to the residents of Great Britain. NHS survey figures also show that there is a problem gambling rate of 8.7 per cent for online gambling on slots, casino or bingo games, one of the highest rates across gambling activities.

We intend to take a similar approach by giving the Gambling Commission the power to apply to court for such an order and use these powers to disrupt illegal gambling operators. In the most serious instances of non-compliance or risks of harm, Ofcom will also have the power to apply to the courts for “business disruption measures”. The Gambling Commission, as well as evidence from the Review, has shown that unlicensed sites pose an increased risk to the most vulnerable consumers. The black market is relatively easy for people to access who are actively trying to find and gamble with illegal operators online. From the limited evidence that is available, we would assume that the size of the black market does not currently account for more than 2.5% of remote gambling that takes place in Great Britain. The Danish Gambling Authority’s 2022 Report on illegal gambling estimates that the online gambling channelisation rate (the percentage of all gambling that takes place legally) is 98% in Great Britain and therefore the black market accounts for 2% of online gambling.

Research based on combined data from Scottish and English health surveys over the last decade indicates that scratchcard play could be a risk factor for young people. Large society lottery operators sell a wide range of products (lottery tickets, scratchcards and online games) through a range of means including retail, door-to-door canvassing, phone, post, email and online. The growing body of evidence helps us to understand how harmful gambling may relate to other harmful behaviours or vulnerabilities, and how tackling gambling harms requires a broad approach. PHE also examined systematic peer-reviewed research to identify risk factors for gambling and harmful gambling. Gambling Commission data suggests that at-risk and problem gambling rates among 11 to 16-year-olds have increased since 2014, although significant changes to the survey methodology make year-to-year comparisons difficult.

The Gambling Commission (UKGC) was created under the Gambling Act 2005 and assumed authority over all commercial gambling in the UK in 2007. Casino Club Port Talbot in Wales is believed to have been the first legal casino in the UK. Gambling first came under state regulation in the 1400s, when authorities restricted betting on horse races and other sports to the nobility, while the poor were limited to dice games. Gambling has been a part of British culture for centuries and nowadays, nearly all forms of gambling are legal and fully regulated across the United Kingdom.