A 25% rise replaces three consultation options
UK gambling operators will pay 25% more for their annual operating licences from 1 October, the government has confirmed. The increase applies to fees paid to the Gambling Commission (GC) and follows a consultation that ran from 27 January to 30 March, drawing 47 responses, most from operators and industry bodies.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) had put three options to the consultation: a flat 20% rise, a flat 30% rise, or a 20% rise with an extra 10% ringfenced for “illegal markets, revenue protection and related activity.” Downing Street had favoured the 20% plus 10% option. The Gambling Commission had backed 30%. The government rejected all three and introduced a fourth: a straight 25% increase, to be delivered through secondary legislation.
Exemptions for lotteries and on-course bookmakers
Society lotteries are exempt. Their licence fees stay frozen.
General betting (limited) operating licences, which cover on-course bookmakers, also sit outside the 25% headline rise. Instead, fees for that category move to a market share-based model calculated on gross gambling yield (GGY), replacing the current system based on days of operation.
Personal licences, supplementary operating licences and single machine permits all rise by 25%, as do fees for applications to vary an existing operating licence or to change corporate control.
Most respondents wanted no increase at all
The government’s consultation response noted that the vast majority of respondents did not support any fee increase. Operators pointed to the cumulative cost of recent gambling duty rises, the new statutory levy, and tighter compliance requirements, arguing the sector is already absorbing enough.
DCMS rejected the case for leaving fees unchanged. Without the rise, it said, the Commission “would have to make significant cutbacks and deprioritise or stop work in areas that the Commission and government deems important.”
Even with the 25% increase, the regulator is not out of the woods. The government said the GC will still need to find at least £8m in further savings over the next five years. Licence fees were last reviewed in 2021.
A regulator running a deficit
The Gambling Commission is a non-departmental public body sponsored by DCMS and funded entirely through licence fees. Its total operating income from fees and other sources was £27.9m in the 2024/25 financial year, up from £26.2m in 2023/24. Separately, the Commission has secured £26m in additional funding from HM Treasury over three years, earmarked specifically for tackling illegal gambling rather than core running costs.
The government said it remains open to changing how the Commission sets its own fees, but that the legislative route to do so is limited for now:
“The government remains supportive of structural changes to the Gambling Commission’s funding framework, to enable the regulator to set licence fees. However primary legislation options to deliver this are currently limited. We are therefore focused on ensuring the Commission is able to meet its imminent challenges by using the current framework.”
The Commission said the consultation outcome gives it clarity on income for the coming years:
“The consultation findings now provide certainty on the Commission’s future income for the coming years. Over the coming weeks, operators will be contacted by the Commission with further details about how this affects them and information about alignment to any new category. An operator’s submitted regulatory return data for 2025 to 2026 will be used to determine its new fee category.”
Operators warn of a widening gap with the black market
A Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) spokesperson said the increase adds to pressure already building on licensed operators:
“Our members recognise the importance of a well-funded Gambling Commission, but these increases add to the financial pressures already facing the regulated betting and gaming sector. Following recent tax rises and the introduction of the statutory levy, it is vital these additional costs do not undermine investment or jobs, or increase the advantage of illegal gambling operators, who pay no tax and offer none of the protections found in the regulated sector. Any increase must be matched by greater accountability, transparency and efficiency from the regulator, with a continued focus on evidence-led regulation that protects consumers.”
The fee rise lands as the Commission works through a period of leadership turnover, with its chair and chief executive both having departed within the past eight months and its policy director confirming his exit in June. Operators will hear from the Commission in the coming weeks on how the new fee categories apply to them, based on regulatory return data already being reported to the regulator. The bigger question, as the UK market keeps growing under a heavier tax and fee load, is how much more cost the sector can absorb before the next review.
Source: Department for Culture, Media and Sport
