The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport opened a consultation on funding the Gambling Commission on 28 January 2026. The consultation, the first review of the Commission’s fees since 2021, will remain open until 29 March 2026; the Commission said the process could provide greater certainty about its future income.
The consultation may affect the fees paid by gambling businesses to fund the UK regulator.
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The UK Gambling Commission opened a consultation on 29 January 2025 on gaming machine technical standards, testing strategy and licence conditions, according to the Commission. The consultation runs until 20 May 2025 and includes proposed time and money limits, responsible gambling messages and changes to existing technical rules.
The Gambling Policy Commission said it has begun reviewing the UK’s gambling legislation after its launch on 9 November. Derek Webb provides its seed funding, while the commission says members retain intellectual independence; Webb said he expects the review to inform the government’s approach to gambling law.
A review of the UK's gambling legislation is already under way following the organisation's announcement on 9 November, the Gambling Policy Commission says. It plans to question existing regulation and advocate legal change informed by responses from the industry and beyond.
The UK’s increase in Machine Games Duty from 20% to 25% for higher-value category B machines does not protect all seaside arcade income, the British Amusement Catering Trade Association said. Category C machines remain taxed at 20% and category D machines at 5%; Bacta said income from category B machines in adult gaming centre sections helps support wider arcade operations, but it has not yet assessed how many machines will face the higher rate.
Machine Games Duty is rising from 20% to 25% solely for higher-value category B gaming machines, according to the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (Bacta). Many traditional seaside arcades depend on revenue from those machines to sustain their broader operations. The association said the chancellor’s attempt to shield pubs and seaside amusements did not fully reflect how coastal businesses operate.
The Gambling Commission has launched an Illegal Gambling Index to track engagement with unlicensed gambling websites in Great Britain. Its survey found that 4% of online gamblers showed indicators of engagement in the previous 12 months, while 1% of all respondents did. The index combines seven behavioural indicators and will be used alongside Gambling Survey for Great Britain data to monitor trends.
A new Illegal Gambling Index will monitor consumers' engagement with unlicensed sites, according to the Gambling Commission; its initial findings showed engagement among 4% of people who gambled online in the previous 12 months. Among all respondents, the figure was 1%.
Illegal betting sites accounted for around 16% of visits to sampled UK horseracing betting websites between January and July 2026, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities found. Its study recorded about 11 million visits to illegal sites and 56.9 million to legal platforms; British Horseracing Authority chief executive Brant Dunshea said the findings supported its concerns about the effects of policy changes.