Starting October 1, 2025, Gibraltar’s new gambling law has taken effect. The new regulation amends several sections of the existing legislation, which remained largely unchanged for over two decades. The updated bill strengthens the gambling territory, increases transparency, and holds operators accountable in the digital entertainment era.
Gibraltar Enforces 2025 Gambling Bill: Key Highlights
- Gibraltar’s Gambling Bill 2025 builds on the 2005 Gambling Act. Its key provisions include additional supervision on specific business classes, enforcing local economic presence and accountability for individual managers.
- A dedicated Gambling Appeals Tribunal is being established to hear appeals against operators by the gambling regulator. This is a key addition to Gibraltar’s gambling regulatory framework, empowering operators to challenge lawsuits.
- While industry stakeholders have welcomed the new legislation, several challenges, including rising licensing costs, additional staffing expenses, and reporting obligations, will increase operational expenses for smaller operators.
Key Innovations Within the 2025 Gibraltar Gambling Bill
The 2025 Gambling Bill officially took effect on October 1, replacing the Gambling Act of 2005. The new legislation builds on the existing legal framework and introduces several parameters for better oversight. It strengthens compliance, increases oversight, and demands higher accountability from operators licensed in Gibraltar.
The updated gambling legislation aims to establish Gibraltar as a premium regulatory hub for remote gambling operators, at par with Malta, Curaçao, and the UK. This vision is further fuelled by the European Commission’s decision to remove Gibraltar from the FATF list of high-risk destinations earlier this year.
The regulator has also been granted additional authority to monitor operators, approve senior management, and impose financial penalties in case of non-compliance. In the words of Andrew Lyman, Gambling Commissioner and Executive Director at the Government of Gibraltar, Ministry of Justice, Trade, and Industry:
Any gambling business now managed and controlled in or from Gibraltar potentially falls within scope.
The other notable provisions introduced in the 2025 Gambling bill include:
- Licensees need to deliver economic substance in Gibraltar, from investments in infrastructure, including offices and staff, to tax contribution.
- Operators must obtain distinct licenses for B2B, B2C, and support services. Therefore, CRM, marketing, software hosting, and managed trading companies will need their individual approval.
- Senior management will require proper vetting and licensing, similar to the UKGC’s Personal Management Licence, for added accountability.
- Marketing activities conducted “in or from Gibraltar” will come under the Gambling Commissioner’s purview, meaning creative agencies, affiliate partners, and group marketing hubs must comply with the legislation.
- The Gambling Commissioner has been granted additional authority. They can now issue cease-and-desist orders, impose financial penalties, conduct inspections, and issue suspension orders.
- Operators will be subjected to increased digital oversight, regarding Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), responsible gambling initiatives, and financial transparency.
Mixed Sentiments Among Stakeholders as Gibraltar’s New Gambling Law Takes Effect
Industry stakeholders have widely praised the new regulation, with many anticipating an increase in Gibraltar-licensed gaming companies operating globally. Gaming consultant and founder of Better Change, Victoria Reed, noted that the new gambling law is a “substantive and directionally aligned” step for the industry.
Reed noted:
Gibraltar was one of the first jurisdictions to build a reputation as a credible, well-regulated hub. We’ve got a low corporate tax rate, access to skilled people and, crucially, a regulator that struck the right balance between commercial awareness and strict oversight, which undoubtedly helped attract many of the industry’s biggest brands.
Gibraltar’s close ties to the UK gave operators access to consumers in the EU, including key markets like Ireland, where players frequent the best online casinos in Ireland, cementing Gibraltar’s position as a premium regulatory destination. However, after Brexit, Gibraltar-based operators suffered a setback in EU member states, meaning their business was even more heavily reliant on the UK market.
Reed explained:
After Brexit, though, it lost the ability to passport licences across the EU, so its value became even more tied to its guaranteed UK market access. That shift meant Gibraltar had to double down on reputation and substance, and the new act is designed to do exactly that.
However, a certain level of uncertainty remains around how some of the new rules will be implemented. Reed addressed the most prominent concerns:
The government has said marketing carried out ‘in or from Gibraltar’ will generally need its own licence, but has also indicated it may carve out some intra-group activity on a case-by-case basis. Until more secondary rules and precedents are published, operators can’t be entirely sure which affiliates, agencies or shared-service teams fall inside scope and which don’t.
Reed stressed that some of the new rules leave room for interpretation:
The act lists functions like managed trading, RNGs, hosting and advertising as ‘support services’, but leaves room for interpretation. Multinational groups will need to decide whether in-house teams that straddle multiple hubs, for instance, a centralised risk team partly in Gibraltar, require licensing.
The Gambling Appeals Tribunal is another significant addition to Gibraltar’s regulatory ecosystem. The independent body established under the 2025 Gambling Bill will hear appeals against the Gambling Commissioner’s rulings in matters related to licence refusal, suspension, and other regulatory penalties.
Experts agree that this marks a major milestone in Gibraltar’s vision to emerge as a prominent gambling regulatory hub. The Gambling Commission has also partnered with other regulatory entities, including the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, establishing a framework for cross-border cooperation.