UK’s New Online Gambling Regulations for 2025 Explained
Since 2018, the Gambling Commission has worked with stakeholders including training providers and the Home Office to emphasise legal requirements in training materials and guidance for the sector. The government expects the sector to prioritise and rapidly strengthen age verification procedures to ensure that children are properly safeguarded from illegal gambling through on-course bookmakers. For example in 2019, a test purchase operation at Royal Ascot found that 7 out of 17 bookmakers accepted bets from underage customers.
The Pros and Cons of Playing online
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”.
Risks and trends
We appreciate that for commercial reasons and for a better customer experience, tables are already grouped together in casinos, often in one large area. The overarching principle is that specific areas in the casino should be separated for the purposes of table gaming. If a casino had 700sqm of gambling space, it would need to have at least 250sqm of non-gambling area. For example, if a casino had 300sqm of gambling space, its non-gambling area would need to be at least 150sqm. We are mindful of ensuring fairness between 1968 Act and 2005 Act casinos but also to those casinos that are currently operating.
Not regarded as gaming where there is no prize offered in “money or money’s worth”. Fantasy betting (payment to back a ‘league’ or ‘portfolio’ selection over a period of time, for example in relation to sport) Sports/horse race betting (if regulated separately to other forms of betting) It is anticipated that under the Crime and Policing Bill, which was introduced to Parliament in February 2025, the Commission will be granted yet further powers to more quickly and effectively take action against illegal gambling websites.
By contrast, the majority of gambling operators, across all sectors (bingo, arcade, casino and betting) advocated for either no increase or a small increase of 10%. Our proposal to introduce an age limit on these machines is a precautionary measure to protect children and young people from gambling-related harm. 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. We propose that the default limits for B1 machines are aligned to those machines in arcades, bingo halls and betting premises. The government proposes that mandatory limits must be included on gaming machines accepting cashless forms of payments.
It Is the only form of sports betting not regulated by the UKGC. The Financial Conduct Authority is tasked with regulating spread betting. It is also possible for smaller lotteries to be held without a licence, but these still require registration with the local authority in place. The National Lottery is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, but there are different legislative components applicable to licensing.
DHSC is working with NHS Digital to enhance the NHS ‘Help for problems with gambling’ webpage as part of its response to the report. This, they argue, can help make safer gambling tools and interventions as appealing and frictionless as the gambling products themselves. 38% reported they were trying to ‘tap out’ before placing a bet and 24% reported that they were actively using ‘tapping out’ to help cut down on their gambling. Some respondents also argued that current narratives, particularly ‘play responsibly’ messaging, could stigmatise those experiencing harm and transfer responsibility to prevent harm from the operator to the individual. While GamCare’s Industry Code for the Display of Safer Gambling Information has improved standards for the display of information on operators’ own websites, there is not an equivalent standard in place for the display of messaging in advertising. Good practice guidance and mandatory inclusion of safer gambling messages in broadcast ads are set out in the IGRG Code, and Betting and Gaming Council members are required to dedicate 20% of broadcast advertising to safer gambling adverts.
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.
Annex A: Impact of proposals
The white paper set out a detailed rationale for the need to reform the current 80/20 rule governing gaming machine allowances in AGCs and bingo halls. As a result, these venues will be entitled to choose between adopting any revised entitlement set down in legislation following this consultation or retaining the four Category B machine allowance for AGC premises and eight Category B machine allowance for bingo premises. The proposals outlined in this consultation to non gamstop reform the 80/20 rule will again permit AGC and bingo premises to retain these legacy rights where the relevant premises licence was granted before 13 July 2011. Please upload any further evidence or any other information that should be considered as part of this consultation relating to casino measures.
Some players object to sharing financial information with gambling operators. Operating without a valid UKGC licence while serving UK customers is a criminal offence, and players at unlicensed sites have no regulatory protections. If a casino does not appear on the UKGC register or its licence has been revoked, do not play there.
These limits apply exclusively to online slots. Online slot stake limits are one of the most significant player-facing changes in recent UK gambling history. Always check bonus terms, as some operators have adjusted minimum deposits, maximum bet sizes during wagering, or game contribution weightings to compensate. This reform has fundamentally changed the value proposition of casino bonuses.
Our intention is that these checks will also be frictionless for customers and conducted online by credit reference agencies or through other means such as open banking in the first instance. These enhanced checks are narrowly targeted and we estimate only around 3% of online gambling accounts will be affected. We also propose that the triggers for enhanced checks should be halved for those aged 18 to 24 given evidence on increased risk. Second, at higher levels of spend which may indicate harmful binge gambling or sustained unaffordable losses (we propose thresholds of £1,000 net loss within 24 hours or £2,000 within 90 days), there should be a more detailed consideration of a customer’s financial position. However, around 300,000 people in Great Britain are estimated to be experiencing ‘problem gambling’, defined as gambling to a degree which compromises, disrupts, or damages family, personal or recreational pursuits, and a further 1.8 million are identified as gambling at elevated levels of risk.
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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.
We will consult on raising the cap for the fees licensing authorities can charge adult gaming centres, betting premises, bingo premises, casinos and family entertainment centres for premises licences. In the land-based sectors, operators and industry bodies highlighted high pass rates for test purchasing and the adoption of ‘Think 21’ and ‘Think 25’ policies in licensed betting offices, bingo premises and casinos. The Patterns of Play data project, commissioned by GambleAware and based on industry-provided data, has been an important step forward in maximising the value of the rich data which operators collect to inform understanding of how players and online gambling interact. Unlike land-based gaming machines, such as in casinos, they have no statutory stake limits.
The vast majority of responses came from industry representatives and local authorities, however, we also received a small number of responses from academics and individuals with lived experience of gambling-related harm. The evidence generated was diverse and was indicative of the varied positions of stakeholders, primarily arcade and bingo operators and licensing authorities. In making this recommendation we recognise the potential advantages that 1968 Act casinos may have over Small 2005 Act casinos that elect to move to the new regime, in terms of Schedule 9 payments and the portability of licences. This will help ensure that operators are operating within the regulations and enable licensing authorities to undertake appropriate licence checks.
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 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.
- The 2005 Act sets out a range of restrictions based on the assumption that restrictions on supply (for example, casino numbers and gaming machine availability) were an important protection.
- Whilst there is no legal duty on gambling operators to protect customers funds in the event of insolvency, many of them do so voluntarily.
- More information regarding AML/CTF requirements for casinos can be found here.
- The Commission has a wide range of powers to deal with operators which do not abide by their licence conditions, ranging from warnings and enhanced compliance procedures to licence reviews and formal enforcement action, including fines which are paid to the Treasury.
We think that this 30 second transaction time, coupled with the other player protection measures that we are proposing, should ensure that the use of direct debit cards on a machine has a similar level of friction to playing with cash. Following 30 seconds, the player would be able to start depositing money onto the machine. We would suggest that the 30 second period should start from when the machine has read the card and approved the payment. Some respondents stated that any transaction time should at least ensure a break from the machine that is equivalent to the time it takes to access additional funds from an ATM. Responses varied on the length that the transaction time should be, with industry broadly agreeing on 30 seconds and non-industry respondents proposing either 90, 120 or 180 seconds. Our aim throughout the development of this policy has been to replicate the experience of playing on a machine with cash and the deposit and committed payment limits play an important role in the current customer journey.
In the Netherlands, gambling legislation requires that all online operators pay an annual levy (which was increased in October 2021), a fixed percentage of which supports the Addiction Prevention Fund. Beside the main funding given to GambleAware, some other industry contributions under this licence condition go directly to other bodies which the Gambling Commission recognises as suitable recipients for the purposes of this licence requirement on operators. The report recommended that a review of the current fee model be carried out, including looking at the way that licence fees could be used to create financial incentives on operators to raise standards.
Please explain your answer, providing any supporting evidence where available. However, it should be noted that respondents were most likely to have spent their own money on types of gambling activity that are legal or do not feature age restricted products, such as penny pusher or claw grab arcade games. Bacta’s members make up approximately 70-80% of the market for family entertainment centres and adult gaming centres. We propose to move the industry’s voluntary commitment into legislation, making it an offence for a person to invite, cause or permit a child or young person to use ‘cash-out’ Category D slot-style games. Further details on machine types and permitted locations can be found at Figure 11.
