The UK government is planning to consult industry stakeholders on increasing the Gambling Commission’s annual fees. The proposed consultation from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport outlines three options for fee increases and explains how changes would be implemented. The documents provide clarity on timing, structure, and financial pressures facing the regulator.
UK Gambling Commission Proposes Amended Fee Structure: Key Insights
- The UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published plans to consult gambling stakeholders on increasing Gambling Commission licence fees. The consultation outlines three proposed options, with fee changes expected to take effect from October 2026.
- The documents explain that the proposed increases are driven by rising regulatory costs and repeated budget deficits at the Gambling Commission. Without a fee hike, the regulator warns its financial reserves could be exhausted during the 2026 to 2027 financial year.
- The proposals also include changes to how fees are structured, with adjustments based on market share and regulatory risk. The timing may prove detrimental to overall market health, as the fee hikes would coincide with previously announced increases in UK gambling taxes.
How the Gambling Commission’s Proposed Fee Hike Works
The consultation proposed three options for increasing annual gambling commission fees. Option one suggests a 30% fee increase, while option two proposes a 20% increase. Option three combines a 20% increase with an additional 10% ringfenced for tackling illegal markets and protecting licensed operators’ revenue from criminal activity.
The UK Gambling Commission recommends option one, while options two and three were presented as alternatives by the government, which is leaning toward the third option. Secondary legislation would be used to bring the changes into force, the public consultation announcement confirms.
The fee adjustments are estimated to take effect from October 1, 2026. The new fee levels would remain in place until amended again under the same framework or replaced by a future proposal.
The fee hike will not apply evenly across all licence categories. Instead, a refined approach will be devised based on market share and regulatory risk for most products. The UKGC has proposed setting flat percentage increases based on existing rates on general betting limited, External Lottery Managers (ELM), and society lotteries.
The consultation proposes harmonisation and potential revision of licensed products’ category bandwidths to allow for growth. The fees for the 1968 Non-Remote Casino Act and 2005 Casino Act will also be synchronised. These measures reiterate the government’s commitment to casino premises entitlements and related legislation that took effect in July last year.
The DCMS’s announcement reads:
Operator application fees and first annual fees (charged at 75% of annual fees) will be increased in line with changes to annual fees, depending on the option taken forward post-consultation. The fees for personal licences, variation and change of corporate control applications will be increased by 20% or 30%, depending on the option taken forward post-consultation.
Reasons Behind the Fee Hike and Its Effects on the Sector
The documents stress that licence fees were last reviewed in 2021. Since then, the Gambling Commission has increased investment in areas such as disrupting illegal gambling, implementing Gambling Act Review White Paper reforms, and developing data capabilities. These changes have contributed to repeated annual budget deficits and reduced financial reserves.
Between 2024 and 2025, the Commission used £3.1 million (approximately €3.57 million) of its reserves. The regulator expects to spend an additional £5 million (roughly €5.76 million) during the financial year 2025/26, bringing reserves close to the minimum threshold of £4 million (nearly €4.61 million). Costs are also expected to continue rising.
The consultation document states:
Without a fee uplift in October 2026, the Commission’s reserves are expected to be completely exhausted during the 2026 to 2027 financial year. The Commission plans to absorb some future inflationary pressures, but without an uplift it forecasts a deficit of £7m in 2027 to 2028, rising to £9.5m in 2030 to 2031.
The timing of the proposed fee increases may prove controversial. The changes would coincide with higher UK gambling taxes announced in the Autumn Budget in November. From April, remote gaming duty will rise from 21% to 40%, while general betting duty is set to rise to 25% in April 2027.
The document also highlights planned reforms to the Gambling Commission’s funding framework. The current structure has been in place since 2017, with most licence fees based on Gross Gambling Revenue (GGR). While fees were last increased in 2021, the Commission argues that revenue from some licence types has drifted away from the true cost of regulation.
Under the proposal, the income required per licence type would be reset to better reflect regulatory costs. The government also intends to authorise the Gambling Commission to consult on and implement its own fee changes, similar to the powers held by regulators such as the Office of Communications (Ofcom) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).