UK Gambling Commission Seeks Ideas to Trim Licence Rules

The regulator wants industry proposals on burdensome requirements, but says active consultations and unevaluated White Paper measures are off limits.
UK Gambling Commission Seeks Ideas to Trim Licence Rules
Key points
  • The UK Gambling Commission has opened a call for proposals on simplifying gambling regulation while preserving consumer protections and the Gambling Act 2005’s licensing objectives.
  • The initiative covers licence conditions, technical standards, reporting processes and wider interactions across the regulatory framework.
  • The regulator is excluding matters under active consultation and unevaluated measures from the 2023 White Paper, including financial vulnerability checks and age verification requirements.
  • The Gambling Act Review implementation programme covers more than 60 areas, while the government’s evaluation plan identifies 62 White Paper measures.
  • Stakeholders have until the end of September to submit proposals through the Commission’s online form.

The UK Gambling Commission has opened a call for proposals asking operators, trade bodies and licensing authorities to suggest where gambling regulation can be simplified. The regulator says the exercise is meant to cut unnecessary burden while keeping consumer protections and the licensing objectives of the Gambling Act 2005 intact.

According to the Commission, the initiative sits in its 2026/27 business plan and invites ideas on regulatory requirements, guidance and operational processes. Suggestions may cover the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, technical standards, reporting processes and wider interactions across the regulatory framework.

Tim Miller, the Commission’s policy lead, said the regulator wants to hear where rules can be improved or streamlined without compromising the protections consumers expect. The topic was also due to be discussed at the next Operators Engagement Forum on 2 July.

OLBG reported that the Commission is excluding matters still under active consultation, and is also excluding measures from the 2023 White Paper that have not yet been fully evaluated. That would rule out reopening recent protections such as financial vulnerability checks or age verification requirements.

The call sits within a wider programme of Gambling Act Review implementation. The Commission says that work covers more than 60 areas and will take several years, while the government’s evaluation plan says the white paper, published in April 2023, contains 62 policy measures.

The Commission has also said changes to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice require legal consultation before rules can be altered, and that future consultations will be tightly focused on implementation rather than reopening settled policy questions. Stakeholders have until the end of September to submit proposals through the Commission’s online form.