A publication error by the UK government has revealed plans to consult gambling stakeholders for their opinion on how much annual gambling commission fees should be increased by.
The now-delayed consultation from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) proposed three possible options:
- Option one: 30% fee increase
- Option two: 20% fee increase
- Option three: 20% fee increase plus 10% ringfenced for tackling illegal markets and protecting licensed operators’ revenue from criminal activity.
It was outlined that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) recommends option one, with options two and three pitched as alternatives by the government. Option three was the preferred option of the government.
Secondary legislation will bring the changes into force, with adjustments to fees expected to come into effect from 1 October 2026. This will remain in place until either changed again under this framework or future fee-setting framework development and implementation, enabling the UKGC to set its own fees, which will require primary legislation.
These fees wouldn’t be distributed across all licence types evenly, with the refined approach based on market share and weighted by regulatory risk for all products other than general betting limited, external lottery manager and society lotteries. Flat percentage increases would be added to these under each of the three options based on current fee levels.
Harmonisation and potential revision will be applied to licensed products’ category bandwidths to allow for growth. Non-remote Casino 1968 Act and Casino 2005 Act fees will be harmonised as well, further to the government’s casino premises entitlements commitment and legislation, which took effect in July last year.
“Operator application fees and first annual fees (charged at 75% of annual fees) will be increased in line with changes to annual fees, depending on the option taken forward post-consultation,” stated the DCMS in the removed post.
“The fees for personal licences, variation and change of corporate control applications will be increased by 20% or 30%, depending on the option taken forward post-consultation.”
Consultation questions
Four main questions were proposed for the consultation:
- Which of the three options outlined do you believe is most appropriate for future Gambling Commission fee levels? Please explain your answer.
- Do you agree that first annual, application and maintenance fees should be increased in line with the proposals set out here, in order to enable the Commission to meet the challenges identified? Please explain your answer.
- Do you have any views on the revised approach to fees setting outlined in this document?
- Are there any other factors that should be considered relating to the proposed changes to operator licence fees and their possible impacts? Please explain your answer.
The consultation was scheduled to close on 30 March 2026 at 11:59pm, although this could be changed once the consultation is republished.
UPDATE: Since this story was posted, the DCMS has republished the open consultation document covering the proposed changes to gambling commission fees.
