Figure 17: Reported past week gambling participation rate among 11 to 16-year-olds

What we regulate

We would also like machines that use the BGC’s Anonymous Player Awareness System (APAS) to implement these limits and for APAS not to act as a substitute for these thresholds. Furthermore, the average stake size on B1 machines is similar to the stake size on B3 machines and therefore we do not think that the mandatory limits should be different between the different categories. In line with their responses to other questions, the pub sector did not want these limits to apply to Category D crane grab machines.

• The current industry voluntary code allows these machines to remain alongside all other types of Category D machines.
• The consultation asked the following questions on ‘cash-out’ Category D slot-style machines.
• The commission has been criticised by some MPs for being toothless and ill-equipped to cope with the shift online.
• The proposals outlined in this consultation to 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.

Ombudsmen are not only a crucial mechanism for consumer protection, providing a means for consumers to enforce their rights independently, but also a source of data to help improve industry standards. We also received evidence on the scale of the existing gap, set out below, and on complexities around redress in gambling cases. There was widespread agreement that support for customers seeking redress for operators’ social responsibility failures is a gap in current arrangements. Questions in our call for evidence asked how redress arrangements might be improved and what risks or consequences the government should consider in making any changes.

There are no statutory stake limits on other forms of in-person gambling such as casino table games or over the counter betting. Slower and less intense games are also likely to generate less revenue than the current games (subject to the precise rule change), but in our view they will make the gambling product offer more sustainable rather than relying on potentially harmful practices to keep customers engaged. However, as one think tank pointed out, reasonable minimum standards are in fact a targeted intervention as they prevent designedly harmful or risky play, but do not impact how most people actually use online products.

£4 million of seed funding will be given over three years to the University of Bristol to build and diversify research capability in the gambling harms field. As the regulator, the Gambling Commission plays an important role in our understanding of gambling-related harms. The government and key partners, including UKRI and the third sector, will bring forward a range of initiatives which will increase the amount of high-quality independent research into gambling. GambleAware is an independent charity and has had no industry trustees since October 2018 and the industry has no role in commissioning decisions. Work on the development of the strategy is now underway and will consider the link between suicide and issues such as harmful gambling. Wider work led by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) with regard to mental health and suicide prevention also takes gambling harm into account.

This change was introduced because cross-product bonuses were identified as a vehicle for drawing players into forms of gambling they had not originally intended to participate in. Each product vertical (casino, sports, bingo, poker) must offer its own standalone bonuses. For example, a casino can no longer offer a “deposit £20 for a sportsbook bonus and get 50 free spins on slots” style promotion. Both features have been banned because they undermine the responsible gambling principles of informed, deliberate play. The rationale for focusing on slots is their high speed of play and their strong association with problem gambling patterns.

In the same period, the average number of gambling ads seen by under 16s more than halved from around 4.5 to just 2.2 per week, and the ads were predominantly for bingo and lotteries. The Gambling Commission’s social responsibility codes specify that operators should still apply the principles of the UK Advertising Codes to any content or media that falls outside of the remit of the codes. While ‘content marketing’ posts which do not directly advertise a product or service may fall outside of the ASA’s remit, they are a popular marketing strategy with which operators can drive brand engagement and loyalty. We want operators to make use of available technology to extend commitments to de-targeting children and vulnerable people and age-gating social media. In Gambling Commission’s Young People and Gambling report 2022, 44% of 11 to 16-year-olds had heard or seen adverts or promotions relating to gambling on social media, and 13% reported following a gambling account on social media.

Keep reading to learn how British regulators and other entities keep you safe from harm. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published its gambling white paper in April 2023, which set out the government’s plans for modernising the regulation of the gambling sector. Google acts as data processor on our behalf, further information is available in Google Cloud Platform Service Specific Terms (opens in new tab) and Google’s Cloud Data Processing Addendum (opens in new tab). Further staking opportunities could be offered within the same game cycle up to the value of £3 for a total staked per game cycle of £5.Scenario CA customer aged 19 stakes £2 on an online slot game. Scenario AA customer aged 27 stakes £5 on an online slot game.

Figure 17: Reported past week gambling participation rate among 11 to 16-year-olds

Although it is withdrawing from commissioning research except where it directly relates to prevention and treatment, GambleAware is providing funding for a new, first of its kind Gambling Harms Research Centre to broaden the range of academic disciplines engaged with gambling harms research in Great Britain. Following a review of its fees in 2024, the Commission will also take an enhanced role in directly commissioning research to inform regulation based on its ongoing assessment of regulatory priorities to prevent harm. The government, including both DCMS and DHSC, will work with UKRI to build interest, capacity and investment in the gambling harms research field in Great Britain and identify research priorities. We welcome the significant contributions industry has made to RET since the introduction of the Gambling Act, and the substantial increase in funding the largest gambling operators have made available for treatment in recent years.

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) have provided detailed information on each casino, including floor space and the number of existing machines. Should access to a greater number of gaming machines require compliance with each of the three size requirements outlined above? Do you agree with the proposed (i) minimum gambling area; (ii) table gaming area; and (iii) non-gambling area requirements for 1968 Act casinos under the new regime? Only areas that comprise 12.5% of the minimum table gaming area can be taken into account when determining the total table gaming area for 1968 Act casinos that access the new machine entitlements. Under the sliding scale proposal (Fig 3), this casino would only be entitled to 70 machines due to the size of its non-gambling area in this instance. While the gambling and table gaming area requirements would be enough for an entitlement of 80 machines, its non-gambling area is too small to qualify for this entitlement.

Sports gambling has a long history in the United Kingdom, having been controlled for many decades, and more recently relaxed. In 2007, then Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that the Government would not be proceeding with the super casino in Manchester. On 29 March 2007, the House of Lords urged the Government to review plans for the super casino in Manchester. On 30 January 2007 Manchester was announced as the winning bid to be the location of the first super casino. On 8 December 2020, Nigel Huddleston MP announced a call for evidence to begin the Gambling Act Review.

The evidence we have seen suggests that bonuses (as defined by the CMA), general promotional offers, and direct marketing communications are the forms of advertising most likely to impact an individual’s gambling behaviour. The proposals set out in the following sections target practices identified as likely to increase the risk of harm. While we agree that it would be harmful for any form of advertising or marketing to ‘normalise’ harmful practices (for example underage or unaffordable gambling), we do not consider participation in gambling in and of itself a form of harm. One argument that was frequently raised in responses calling for greater restrictions on advertising was that the ‘normalisation’ of gambling is a form of harm caused by advertising. The authors suggest that limiting children and vulnerable people’s exposure to gambling advertising could mitigate the potential harm that advertising poses to these groups.

General approach of the Commission to compliance

We know from the evidence available that while public health campaigns cannot be used as a universal solution to reduce gambling-related harm, with effective targeting they can help raise awareness among target audiences and promote behaviours to mitigate harms. In the shorter term, industry will update the IGRG Code to extend the BGC’s existing commitment of at least 20% of TV and radio ads space being safer gambling focused to all advertising space across online and broadcast media. Once appropriate campaigns and messaging are developed, the Commission will consult on further requirements for gambling operators to engage with and apply the new messaging appropriately alongside product-based information in order to inform and empower consumers. The evidence suggests it would be beneficial to develop systematic messaging, independent from industry, to maximise the information available to consumers and enable them to make informed decisions with a better understanding of the risks. Most respondents, including those within the industry, recognised the need for safer gambling messaging to go beyond a vague ‘play responsibly’ message.

Subject to all of the above, in accordance with the licensing authority’s policy statement published under section 349 of the Act. In accordance with any relevant guidance issued by the Commission under section 25 (this section requires the Commission to issue guidance on how licensing authorities should exercise their functions, and the principles they should apply in doing so); In England and Wales, the licensing authority is the local authority, whereas in Scotland it is the licensing board.

Katya leads product at Casino.net and has followed UK gambling regulation since the run-up to the 2023 White Paper. UK gambling regulation is among the most mature and heavily enforced in the world, and it is still tightening. A dedicated gambling ombudsman was proposed in the 2023 White Paper but is not yet operational.

Under the Gambling Act of 2005, all casinos operating in the United Kingdom are required to obtain a license from the Commission. Casino operators are advised to review the latest edition of the guidelines and ensure the integration of these changes into their risk assessments, rules, procedures, processes, and training. Licensing authorities are reminded that when considering such applications, they must be satisfied that, if granted, the premises in question meets the relevant mandatory and default conditions for the relevant premises licence. Such casinos may operate as card clubs without offering casino games. Most of these casinos fall below the size thresholds of the other two categories.

For this reason, submissions from members of the public which came via 38 Degrees accounted for 94% of all submissions of the Act Review call for evidence by volume. However, where the evidence is pertinent to policy development, suitably anonymised excerpts have been included throughout the white paper. We do not intend to publish in full all of the submissions to the call for evidence as a number of respondents provided information on a confidential basis. Finally, treatment providers, most notably NHS clinicians and third sector gambling treatment specialists, provided 8 submissions. 18 sports and racing bodies provided targeted submissions on aspects of the call for evidence which overlapped with their sport, mainly on advertising and sponsorship. The All Party Betting and Gaming Group did not make a collective submission, but individual members provided evidence independently.

Making advertising smarter and safer

The government has already indicated that it intends to examine radical new ways to mainstream and improve ADR across the economy for all types of disputes including consumer disputes, so it is no longer viewed as an ‘alternative’ to court but operates as an integrated part of the justice system. Most submissions called for a gambling ombudsman, though there were significant differences in proposals for how best to design a new system, its remit, powers and the specific details around the desired outcomes of the new arrangements. There may also be particular difficulties if the complainant is vulnerable due to gambling disorder or some other factor. This can be costly, time consuming and potentially inequitable given the resource disparities between the typical complainant and the gambling operator.

This same flexibility will be a defining feature of our ongoing approach to gambling regulation with a regulator empowered to respond to new challenges. The remote gambling sector continues to be enormously innovative, and it is essential that our regulation can respond to issues both foreseen and unforeseen. Equally, things which might be in the customers’ interest should be made accessible, understandable and easy. The findings could inform future steps in this area, including making it as easy to close an account as it is to open one.

However, as outlined below, more deprived communities have higher rates of people experiencing problem gambling. When all forms of gambling are considered together, participation is higher among men (57.4% of men surveyed in England between 2012 and 2018 had gambled in the previous 12 months) than women (50.7%). The National Lottery has had a broad customer base since its launch in 1994 and remains the most popular gambling product (see Figure 2 below).

The regulatory question is whether gambling facilities are used by Great Britain consumers, not whether the operator is licensed elsewhere. B2B suppliers exposed to UK-facing offshore clients should map this risk directly into commercial terms. The UKGC’s October 2025 report (updated March 2026) describes a concrete toolkit for disrupting illegal operators serving Great Britain. In the Sorare.com prosecution, the UKGC charged Sorare.com with providing unlicensed gambling facilities to consumers in Britain, with a listed hearing at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court. For operators weighing UK market entry, the regulatory reality is not a compliance box-tick but a continuous programme with real financial exposure. The UKGC publishes major financial penalties on a near-quarterly basis, and a smaller body of court decisions sets the boundaries of what those penalties can look like and how operators can respond.

This is an important measure to create a clear distinction between gambling products for adults and lower risk products accessible to children (such as crane grabbers or coin pushers) which have non-cash prizes or are entirely unlike adult gambling products. Based on responses to the consultation, we will proceed with 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 machines. However, there was some disagreement over some of the additional proposals that we set out in the consultation aimed at preventing those under 18 from using these machines.

You will need to apply to the licensing authority the premises is located, to get a premises licence. You will need a premises licence to provide casino games to players in a non-remote setting. An operating licence allows you to provide gambling activities to customers in Great Britain. We issue operating licences and personal licences; premises licences are issued by local licensing authorities.

We therefore propose to consult on reducing the ratio from 80/20 (Category B to C/D machines) to 50/50 (Category B to C/D machines) in bingo and arcade venues. However, we remain of the view that it is important to maintain a balanced offering of higher and lower stake products in licensed gambling premises. It has also been overtaken by the development of digital Category B machines with improved player protections in comparison to older Category C and D machines, although we recognise there is scope to make further improvements. The stake for Category C machines is currently at a maximum of £1 and was last changed in 2009 — if inflation had been applied this would (as of February 2023) be approximately £1.43.

Of course, you’ll need to restrict yourself to casino online play, poker rooms, and bookmakers that are fully licensed and regulated. The new financial practices not only give you peace of mind, but greater transparency means the entire gambling industry is more accountable. Following the legislative changes that came into effect on November 1, 2014, all licensed casino online sites were subsequently required to hold all player funds in a non gamestop casino separate account.

Similar provisions of the Act relate to gaming and gaming machines in licensed premises in Scotland, but these apply to premises which have a premises licence granted under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. 1968 Act casinos are limited to 20 gaming machines only, regardless of size, unless they restrict themselves to lower stakes machines only. The land-based sector includes casinos, licensed betting offices, licensed bingo premises, family entertainment centres, adult gaming centres, and on-course betting at racecourses.