UK Gambling Commission Licensing Guide 2026 UKGC Explained
The best casino games depend on your playing style. A properly licensed UK casino should not cheat players. Rankings should remain useful first and include licence, terms and safer-play context. Once you see the badge on a casino’s site, you know it is legit.Just so you know, the Gambling Commission does not hand out licenses for nothing.
It is based on your gross gambling yield. The statutory levy is a mandatory payment that funds research, education, and treatment related to gambling harm. For small operators, fees start at £4,224, with higher annual fees for bigger operators.
Some gambling software businesses provide facilities for remote gambling by making their games available to customers of other operators. You have the option to select ‘Prefer not to say’ in response to any of the questions that ask for your personal data. The government is considering raising maximum licence fees for gambling premises. If you are a local authority/ licensing board, how many premises licence applications did you receive in the 22/23 financial year? We expect that wider benefits will arise from the increase in oversight and enforcement activity by licensing authorities of gambling premises in their area and are seeking further information to better understand these benefits. In order to produce a more robust estimate for funding raised, we require additional data on the current number of licence applications and live licences.
We can also analyse average loss and session length data to consider the possible risks of gambling harm for those customers who increase their gambling participation as a result of these measures. Notably, these rates are below the at-risk and problem gambling rates for casino non gamstop casino table games (31.5% and 6.4% respectively). • Any non-gambling area may consist of one or more areas within the premisesDo you agree that this should remain the same under the new regime? It is for the Scottish Ministers to consider whether they want to amend the Mandatory and Default Conditions that apply to casinos located in Scotland. Therefore, we would welcome any responses which highlight concerns about this approach and how non-gambling areas could be calculated using a different method.
Data provided for a London casino over a four-week period in October 2019 showed a clear correlation between average dwell time and occupancy rates. Evidence suggests that this can make customers who have secured a machine reluctant to take a break as they may be unable to play again. In order to ensure local authorities can continue to carry out their licensing and enforcement duties effectively, we are proposing to raise this cap by either 10%, 20% or 30%. This included a number of measures to adjust outdated regulatory restrictions applying to the land-based gambling sector. The Gambling Act Review white paper published in April 2023 set out the government’s plans for modernising the regulation of gambling in Great Britain.
These are the types of gambling licences you will need to run your gambling business. The first annual fee (for the non-remote Casino 2005 Act operating licence only) will be reduced by 50 percent. The first annual fee for a non-remote (2005 Act (opens in new tab)) casino licence is due six months after the licence is issued to you. A large casino under the 2005 Act (opens in new tab) has a minimum table gaming area of 1,000 square metres and a minimum non-gambling area of 500 square metres.
This is because the Commission has to be satisfied with a number of issues, such as, detailed financial forecasts, profit/loss projections, market research and analysis and more, before issuing a licence. The Commission requires significant levels of detailed information on both the proposed business model as well as the personal details and financial arrangements of the individual(s) seeking the licence. Search by name, licence or account number While they are also reputable bodies, they do not permit operators to accept UK players. In your quest, you may also come across operators that feature licenses from other bodies, like the Malta Gaming Commission and the Government of Curacao.
A Brief Introduction of UKGC and How It Operates
These operators employ player protection measures like SSL encryption, secure payment portals, firewalls, and two-factor authentication to keep you and your data safe. Whatever your answer is, you should always choose British gambling sites running under a valid licence from the UKGC. Almost all UK casinos offer top-notch desktop sites you can access through your browser. If you prefer playing on a desktop, choosing any of the popular UK casinos will be good for you.
This would also apply for in-fill and tablet gaming machines. Our objective in reforming the ratio of Category C and D to Category B gaming machines is to support a sector which has experienced significant commercial challenges in recent years through increased flexibility over their gaming machine offer. This chapter outlines the evidence received in relation to the white paper proposal to amend the ratio of Category C and D to Category B gaming machines in arcade and bingo venues.
How casinos handle issues says a lot, so we test response times and how helpful support actually is. We only feature licensed and regulated UK online casinos that meet the modern standards for fair and safe play. At online-casinos.co.uk, we’ve been helping potential UK players find the best online casinos since the dial-up days. Looking for the best online casinos in the UK?
Use these category picks to match a casino to the way you actually want to play. So, every online casino that wants to legally operate in the UK has to get a license from the UKGC. The UK Gambling Commission is the one keeping casinos in check. Listen to what he has to say about online casino safety before you choose where to play. What does it mean for an online casino? Don’t you look for a safe and trusted UK online casino, where you can actually enjoy the newest game releases and not worry about the fine print?
- Energy costs per machine will be estimated in the final stage impact assessment using an energy calculator.
- 407.Part 18 contains provisions requiring all licensing authorities to set three-year licensing policies in respect of all of their functions under the Act, including premises licences.
- Some operators were keen to highlight the increasing cost burden for land-based casinos in other areas, but acknowledged the logic of applying consistency across regimes.
Premises Licenses relate to non-remote businesses and give permission for using facilities to operate as casinos (or for other gambling activity). Furthermore, the UK has specific regulations for remote gambling operators. Covers high street betting shops, casinos, bingo halls and adult gaming centres. Navigate our comprehensive database of Gambling Commission licensed operators, brands and licences For casinos which exercise the extended entitlement and other larger converted casino premises, a new mandatory condition in paragraph 4 of Part 5 of Schedule 1 to the 2007 Regulations requires that the floor area of the gambling area is less than 1,500m². New paragraph 3 of Part 5 of Schedule 1 to the 2007 Regulations attaches additional mandatory conditions to converted casino premises licences that apply only if the holder decides to exercise the extended entitlement.
Casino premises licences
This option balances our 2 key priorities, the first being to support arcade and bingo premises through increased commercial flexibility within the context of many businesses operating at a loss post-COVID-19. Under the current rules, there is a risk that operators entering the market might use in-fills and tablets to account for the totality of their Category C and D offer while offering Category B machines exclusively on more popular cabinet machines. We also received a small number of responses from gaming machine manufacturers and suppliers to the supplementary consultation. Given the small number of responses, we assume that the favoured option amongst licensing authorities remains Option 2. We also received a small number of responses from local authorities, charities and gaming machine manufacturers. In arcade premises, 2.3% of Category B gaming machine sessions result in losses of £200 or more, compared to 2% of combined Category C, Category D and mixed sessions.
Anti-money laundering regulations
This includes tools to help control your gambling and easy access to problem gambling resources. You should play at licensed casino sites to have a secure, fair, and responsible experience. On receiving the application, we may make a representation to the local licensing authority about it.
The policy proposals set out in this government response are intended to modernise the land-based gambling sector and help it to thrive sustainably. In addition, operating costs have risen significantly over this period, especially as a result of rising energy costs, which have increased by over 225% for some operators. The land-based gambling sector, unlike the online gambling sector, has faced significant challenges in recent years as a result of business inactivity during periods of COVID-19 restrictions. In September 2019, the Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) generated by remote gambling overtook that of land-based gambling for the first time (excluding lotteries). The white paper acknowledged that the emergence of new technology and the availability of online gambling since the Gambling Act 2005 came into force has substantially altered the gambling landscape. Measures relating to casinos – one draft affirmative and one made negative statutory instrument.
This will act as a safeguard in case someone tries to put more than £100 onto the machine. It will also help mitigate against the risk of someone putting a significant sum of money onto a machine in one go. Using a debit card on a machine is a different experience for the customer compared to cash or tickets where a process such as going to an ATM has been undertaken before the person can put money onto the machine. The maximum transaction limit, aligned with a minimum transaction time, will provide an additional point of friction to the customer if they wish to put more than this amount onto the machine. However, customers can continue to deposit money onto the machine without needing to pause or undertake an action. Some responses stated it should be £1, in line with their view that cashless payments should not be permitted at all.
The government’s preference is for a 30 second minimum cooling-off period, but we would be content with a longer minimum time period if evidence provided in response to the Gambling Commission’s consultation suggests that longer is needed in order to protect players. Other responses from outside of industry thought that the cooling-off period should be longer, with respondents stating either 60 or 120 seconds. 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.
This will be used to model the estimated increase in GGY for each option in the final impact assessment. Therefore, we cannot currently estimate the total increase in GGY for each option. We welcome further evidence on this in the consultation response. Energy costs per machine will be estimated in the final stage impact assessment using an energy calculator.