Gambling Commission Opens UK Regulatory Burden Review

⏱ 3 min read

The UK Gambling Commission launched a first-of-its-kind open call on 26 June 2026, inviting operators and industry bodies to identify regulations they believe are unnecessarily burdensome — marking the most significant shift in its regulatory posture since the 2023 Gambling White Paper began reshaping the sector. Unlike standard consultations, the Commission is not putting forward draft proposals; it is asking the industry itself to build the case for change.

The call is open until 25 September 2026 and covers every layer of the regulatory framework — from Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) and technical standards to reporting requirements and day-to-day regulatory processes. Respondents must back any submission with evidence of the burden the rule creates. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), which represents roughly 90% of licensed UK operators, welcomed the move but has previously warned that cumulative compliance costs risk pushing consumers toward unlicensed black-market sites.

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How the Open Call Works

The Commission's initiative departs from its usual consultation model, where the regulator publishes draft proposals and invites comment. This time, operators and stakeholders lead the agenda. Participants must submit proposals via an online form on the Gambling Commission's website, explaining which rule or process creates an unnecessary burden and providing evidence to support that claim.

The Commission will hold a dedicated discussion at its next Operators Engagement Forum on 2 July 2026, giving operators an early opportunity to shape the direction of submissions. Feedback gathered by the September deadline will then be reviewed within the current business cycle, with the Commission expected to issue a formal response thereafter.

Three conditions constrain what will be considered. Any proposal must continue to uphold the Gambling Act 2005's three licensing objectives:

• Keeping crime out of gambling
• Ensuring gambling is conducted fairly and openly
• Protecting children and vulnerable people from harm

The Commission was explicit that the exercise will not reopen settled policy. Measures introduced or recently implemented will only be revisited if respondents can demonstrate "strong evidence" of unintended consequences for consumers or businesses.

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What Areas Are in Scope

The Commission confirmed the review covers the full regulatory framework. Priority areas operators are expected to target include the LCCP, Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards (RTS), quarterly reporting cycles introduced in July 2024, and the granular marketing consent regime that took effect on 1 May 2025. Also in scope are guidance documents and the mechanics of how the Commission interacts with licensees operationally.

Areas explicitly unlikely to receive traction include proposals around the statutory gambling levy — now in force since 1 October 2025 — online slot stake limits (£5 per spin for players 25+, £2 for those aged 18–24), and financial vulnerability checks, all of which are still being evaluated following implementation.

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Why It Matters: The White Paper Backdrop

The Commission's 2026/27 Business Plan describes this as the third and final year of its corporate strategy cycle, with the White Paper reform programme nearing completion. Tim Miller, Executive Director for Research and Policy, framed the initiative as a proportionality exercise, not a rollback of consumer protections.

The Commission has also signalled new priorities for the coming year: a £26 million government commitment to combat illegal gambling, referrals of over 117,000 URLs of unlicensed sites to search engines in 2025 alone (up from fewer than 27,000 at the start of the year), and early-stage exploratory work on regulated crypto assets as a licensed payment option.

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Key Regulatory Milestones: 2025–2026

Date	Measure	Impact on Operators
28 Feb 2025	Financial vulnerability checks at £150/month net spend threshold	Mandatory data checks for high-spend accounts
9 Apr 2025	Online slot stake limits introduced (£5 / £2 by age)	Game redesigns; portfolio reviews across all operators
1 May 2025	Granular marketing consent (per product, per channel)	CRM overhauls; reduced addressable marketing base
1 Oct 2025	Statutory gambling levy comes into force	Percentage of GGY payable to Commission for research/treatment
19 Jan 2026	Wagering requirement cap (10x) and mixed-product bonus ban	Bonus restructuring across casino and sportsbook products
30 Jun 2026	Deposit limit reforms — amount-in basis required	Account management system updates for all remote operators
26 Jun 2026	UKGC open call: industry proposals to reduce regulatory burdens	Window for operators to formally shape future compliance requirements

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Industry Reaction and the Black Market Pressure

The BGC responded positively, telling NEXT.io it would work "constructively" with the Commission. The trade body's enthusiasm is grounded in longer-standing concern: its own analysis, drawing on H2 Gambling Capital data, found that both illegal market stakes and profits doubled between 2023 and 2025, with channelisation estimates as high as 12% of UK gamblers visiting unlicensed sites. New polling for the BGC found 52% of bettors believe higher taxes make punters more likely to use unlicensed operators, and 57% already consider UK gambling too heavily regulated.

BGC Chief Executive Grainne Hurst has previously described the cumulative effect of regulatory burdens and tax rises as a Jenga tower: "you build it up and up, but at some point it will topple." From 1 April 2026, Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40%, adding material cost pressure just as this open call launches. The Government separately committed £26 million over three years to the Commission for illegal market enforcement and established an Illegal Gambling Taskforce — bringing in Google, Mastercard, TikTok and Visa — but industry bodies argue enforcement alone cannot offset the compliance economics pushing players offshore.

For the regulated sector, the Commission's willingness to let operators set the deregulation agenda — even within firm guardrails — represents a meaningful change in tone after three years of near-continuous rule-setting under the White Paper programme.

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Sources

This article draws on primary regulatory publications and specialist iGaming news coverage. Primary sources are listed first.

Getting into a position where we are on an endless treadmill with reform will not take us any further forward.

— Tim Miller, Executive Director for Research and Policy, UK Gambling Commission · BGC AGM, February 2026