The Gambling Commission (GC) appears to have hinted at a pathway for crypto assets to become available as a payment option with gambling operators in the UK.
Crypto payments in the UK gambling market have been discussed for some time now, but developments earlier this year with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) saw Executive Director Tim Miller instruct the Industry Forum to look at how crypto payments could be ‘progressed sensibly and in line with the licensing objectives’ to meet consumer demand.
In February, Parliament produced the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 (FSMA), bringing cryptoassets within the FCA’s regulatory remit. This is expected to come into force on 25 October 2027.
Further GC comments on crypto payments in gambling have been made this past week by Director of Enforcement John Pierce at the Gambling Anti-Money Laundering Group (GAMLG) Annual Conference, as well as by Executive Director for Operations Sue Young at the KPMG Gibraltar eSummit.
Pierce at the GAMLG Annual Conference hinted that crypto could be implemented as a payment option so long as it strengthens anti-money laundering (AML) infrastructure, not weaken it.
He said: “Following FCA progress, we are looking at what the potential path forward would be for cryptoassets to be used as a consumer payment option.
“We know this is an area of real interest for the licensed industry and if done in the right way could ultimately be a way of future-proofing our fight against criminal activity: a strength of our AML infrastructure, as opposed to a weakness.
“But as you would expect me to say, this will need to be progressed in line with the licensing objectives and the money laundering regulations. So we are looking to move forwards, but this will take time.”
“If done in the right way could ultimately be a way of future-proofing our fight against criminal activity.
Gambling Commission Director of Enforcement John Pierce
Young at the KPMG Gibraltar eSummit added that the Industry Forum is looking to keep pace with the FCA on crypto to create a way for such assets to be more easily used as a payment option.
However, she also emphasised that it will take time and that ‘getting it right so your businesses and your customers don’t end up in trouble is the right way to go about this’.
FCA authorisation under FSMA with permission to utilise crypto payments will be needed by any company wishing to undertake cryptoasset regulated activities at the point the new regulations come into force.
While there’s no new timeline for when we’ll see crypto payments as an option with gambling operators, the sensible pathway is clearly being discussed, with AML at the heart of any decision that is made.
