What we regulate
This includes both online and physical places you can gamble, like a betting shop or casino. Next up, online casinos can no longer allow people to play multiple games simultaneously. Some of the biggest changes to the way games are played at online casinos will involve the way the games are designed. If you live in the UK, when January rolls around, expect online casinos to ask you to opt-in to marketing from them. From this point onwards, any direct marketing needs to be opt-in, so players must choose to receive advertising from online casinos.
Requirement to meet all three size requirements
These account for an estimated 70% of online casino games. The Gambling Commission said online operators would need to implement the new rules by 31 October. New restrictions designed to make online casino games less intensive and safer have been announced by the Gambling Commission.
- The UKGC does not go after individuals who are participating in illegal online gambling.
- Submissions from industry and campaign groups differed on whether there is currently a significant black market for gambling or a risk of one emerging.
- We recommend that licensing authorities update their policy statements using a wide range of data and analysis, including making use of spatial tools and public health data to identify vulnerable areas and to state their position on additional gambling premises in these areas.
- It demands more of organisations in terms of accountability for their use of personal data, and adds to the existing rights of individuals.
- UKGC-licensed casinos protect your money and personal details using strong encryption and trusted payment methods.
We will consider further the potential for allowing a wider range of games on electronic terminals at casinos, subject to appropriate restrictions. We have looked at the experience of the licences created under the 2005 Act and intend to extend some of their rules to the wider casino estate. However, in the light of developments in technology and the availability of online gambling, the characteristics of the product and quality of monitoring have now assumed greater importance.
However, gambling disorder and gambling-related harms are usually attributable to complex interactions between multiple factors. It is important to note that the approach used for gambling will inevitably differ to the approach used for alcohol, not least because of the difference between the licensing objectives for alcohol and for gambling. The findings of a CIA would not remove a licensing authority’s discretion to grant applications for new licences or applications to vary existing licences, where the authority considers this to be appropriate in the light of the individual circumstances of the case. Licensing authorities also have the power to attach licence conditions and remove premises licences if required.
The Gambling Act 2005 created a partnership between the Gambling Commission and 368 licensing authorities in England, Wales and Scotland for the regulation of land-based gambling. Please upload any further evidence or any other information that should be considered as part of this consultation relating to an age limit on ‘cash-out’ Category D slot-style machines. Do you think premises should adopt voluntary test purchasing as a way to monitor under-18s activity on Category D ‘cash-out’ slot-style machines? While under-18s may make up a small proportion of total players, there is evidence that they do play on these machines. Granular data is not available on how many of these are ‘cash-out’ slot-style machines, which are in scope of this measure.
Such measures balance sector growth with social responsibility, ensuring a sustainable industry future. He advocates modernizing operations by integrating sports betting and expanding electronic payments. Industry leaders and regulators have laid a roadmap for the UK casino sector’s future, emphasizing pivotal changes.
Of course, you’ll need to restrict yourself to casino online play, poker rooms, and bookmakers that are fully licensed and regulated. The new financial practices not only give you peace of mind, but greater transparency means the entire gambling industry is more accountable. Following the legislative changes that came into effect on November 1, 2014, all licensed casino online sites were subsequently required to hold all player funds in a separate account.
The UKGC has introduced age-based online slot stake limits. Any operator offering gambling services to UK residents must hold a valid UKGC licence. The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is the independent regulatory body responsible for licensing and overseeing all commercial gambling in Great Britain. It is also worth noting that it is not illegal for UK residents to gamble at offshore casinos. We strongly recommend playing only at UKGC-licensed casinos. Report issues through the UKGC website at
Condition attached to remote casino operating licences
We propose therefore that these machines are allowed to stay in unrestricted areas in licensed and unlicensed FECs, and other premises including but not limited to pubs and travelling fairs. This change will not only strengthen the existing voluntary commitment from industry, by making it an offence to allow under-18s to play this type of gaming machine, it will also level the field between operators who are signed up to the voluntary code and those who are not. However, due to the lack of substantive research or evidence clearly identifying harms resulting from general Category D machines, we do not support a ban on children accessing other Category D machines, such as those that pay out in tickets, crane grabbers or coin pushers. As set out in the white paper, we believe that a more precautionary approach is justified for slot-style games which mirror the mechanics of adult-only gaming machines, particularly those which pay out cash. Whilst there are some forms of indirect cashless payment methods under the current framework, as well as ATMs near some gambling locations, the lack of future-proofing for payment methods does risk a real decline in gaming machine GGY.
We will also work with the relevant trade bodies and operators to understand the feasibility of implementing voluntary test purchasing to help understand whether operators are abiding by this new restriction. For example, the information could be displayed to customers at regular intervals (such as every 5 minutes for a 30 second period) or be readily available to customers, at their discretion, no further than one button press away. However, we believe that a variant of this feature would help customers to keep a track of their play. They also argued that it is an invasion of a customer’s privacy and that many people would not be comfortable with other players knowing how much they have spent and how long they have played on a machine for. The split was mainly between non-industry and industry respondents, with industry opposing this proposal.
This is viewed as a more proportionate table gaming area compared to other floor space requirements, and will ensure parity with 1968 Act casinos. Small 2005 Act casinos will also experience a reduction in their required minimum table gaming area, from 500sqm to 250sqm. This will ensure that only distinct and sizeable table gaming areas can count towards the total, giving customers a genuine mix of products that are easily accessible and identifiable in a casino. Despite respondents indicating a preference for venues to be made to reduce their gambling area, we think this is a fair exemption for the small number of casinos that it will apply to.
On the 17th of January 2025, the way that online casinos market to their existing players will change. In late 2024, one of the biggest changes to happen with online casinos in the UK was rolled out. These regulations only apply to online casinos licensed in the United Kingdom. In conjunction with the government, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is always looking at ways that patrons at online casinos can be better protected.
What are my data protection rights?
In order to limit the facility to offer credit to overseas customers, we propose to remove the prohibition only in respect of customers not resident in the UK. However, in one casino it accounts for around 48% of overall money exchanged for chips within the venue in a typical year. No workable alternatives have been identified despite government and operators having been in discussion on this issue since the withdrawal of cheques was first mooted by the banking sector in 2017.
The UK casino regulations represent the most significant overhaul of British gambling law in over two decades. Membership of GAMSTOP is mandatory for all licensed online operators. Operators pay gambling duties instead, including the 40% Remote Gaming Duty introduced in April 2026. Every casino in our UK casino rankings is licence-checked as part of our review process, so the list is a safe starting point.
Keep reading to learn how British regulators and other entities keep you safe from harm. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published its gambling white paper in April 2023, which set out the government’s plans for modernising the regulation of the gambling sector. Google acts as data processor on our behalf, further information is available in Google Cloud Platform Service Specific Terms (opens in new tab) and Google’s Cloud Data Processing Addendum (opens in new tab). Further staking opportunities could be offered within the same game cycle up to the value of £3 for a total staked per game cycle of £5.Scenario CA customer aged 19 stakes £2 on an online slot game. Scenario AA customer aged 27 stakes £5 on an online slot game.
There is now a maximum stake limit in place for online slot games. Despite the restrictions highlighted on this page, the UK has some of the most relaxed gambling legislation in the world. We’ll discuss how they help to protect online gamblers in the UK. For example, remote gambling and software technical standard 11 requires licensees to implement measures intended to deter, prevent, and detect collusion and cheating. 1 Licensees must conduct an assessment of the risks of their business being used for money laundering and terrorist financing. 6 Licensees must put into effect procedures designed to ensure that an individual who has self-excluded cannot gain access to gambling.
The Gambling Act 2005 provides for a range of licences to be granted to both non-remote (i.e., land-based) as well as remote businesses. On 8 December 2020, the UK Government announced a long-awaited review of British gambling laws and a call for evidence to inform the potential extent of changes required to the Gambling Act 2005 in order to make the legislative framework “fit for the ‘digital age’”. Gambling operators are subject to the advertising regulations of the UK Advertising Standards Authority and the industry of the British “Industry Group for Responsible Gambling”.
(2) The floor area of the gambling area must be less than 1,500m². (4) Any separate area that comprises less than 12.5 per cent of the minimum required table gaming area is not to be taken into account in determining the table gaming area. (a)half the size of the floor area of the gambling area,
The Behavioural Insights Team highlighted some research they had undertaken on individuals’ experiences of gambling management tools. Many of the responses from outside of industry were strongly in favour of staff alerts but argued that they needed to be complemented by staff training so that they can intervene in a meaningful way. Therefore, adding staff alerts when limits are hit would not serve as an additional benefit and could deter customers from setting limits or encourage them to set limits at much higher levels. Other parts of the industry were opposed to staff alerts, particularly the pub sector who stated that it would be difficult for staff to respond to an alert in a busy pub environment. Non-industry responses were supportive of staff alerts being mandated, while views were split across industry.
There are no statutory not on gamstop stake limits on other forms of in-person gambling such as casino table games or over the counter betting. Slower and less intense games are also likely to generate less revenue than the current games (subject to the precise rule change), but in our view they will make the gambling product offer more sustainable rather than relying on potentially harmful practices to keep customers engaged. However, as one think tank pointed out, reasonable minimum standards are in fact a targeted intervention as they prevent designedly harmful or risky play, but do not impact how most people actually use online products.