DCMS confirms 25% Gambling Commission licence fee increase from October

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has confirmed a 25% increase in Gambling Commission licence fees. The revised charges will take effect from 1 October 2026.

The increase follows a public consultation held between January and March this year. During this, operators, suppliers and industry bodies overwhelmingly opposed higher fees. Despite that feedback, the government concluded that additional funding was necessary to help maintain the regulator's operations and enforcement activities.

The final package differs from the options originally proposed. Ministers are opting for a single 25% uplift across most licence categories rather than any of the three consultation models.

"The revised fee structure reflects the need to adequately fund gambling regulation while balancing concerns raised during consultation."

DCMS rejects earlier consultation options

When the consultation launched in January,  DCMS put forward three possible approaches: a 20% increase, a 30% increase, or a 20% increase combined with an additional 10% surcharge specifically ringfenced for tackling the illegal gambling market.

Following industry feedback, all three proposals were abandoned.

Instead, most Gambling Commission fees will now increase by a standard 25%. This will cover operating licence applications, annual fees, personal licences, licence variations and corporate control changes.

The first annual fees will remain set at 75% of the standard annual fee. Supplementary operating licence fees and single machine permit fees will also increase by 25%.

Some sectors avoid the increase

Not every licence category will see higher charges.

Society lottery licence fees have been frozen to ensure more funding remains available for charitable good causes. Ancillary society lottery licence fees will also be unchanged.

Meanwhile, on-course bookmakers will see a change to how their fees are calculated. Rather than being based on the number of operating days, general betting (limited) operating licence fees will instead be linked to gross gambling yield (GGY).

DCMS estimates that around 44% of operators in this category will pay lower fees under the new structure. Most of the remainder will experience only modest increases.

Regulator still faces funding pressures

The government said the increase is intended to help address the Gambling Commission's funding gap without significantly reducing regulatory activity.

According to DCMS, the Commission is currently facing an annual budget shortfall of around £4 million. Even after the fee increase, it will still need to deliver approximately £8 million in efficiency savings over the next five years.

The government also rejected proposals to fund illegal gambling enforcement through dedicated licence fee surcharges.

Instead, the Commission will continue its illegal market strategy using a separate £26 million funding package previously allocated by HM Treasury over three years.

For the largest operators generating more than £100 million in annual GGY, licence fees will rise from around 0.1% to approximately 0.15% of GGY.

Industry raises concerns over rising costs

Most consultation respondents opposed any increase. They argued the sector is already facing mounting financial pressure.

Many pointed to the introduction of the statutory gambling levy alongside recent gambling tax reforms. They warned that the combined impact increases the cost of operating in the regulated market.

Respondents also questioned whether applying broadly similar percentage increases across different gambling sectors accurately reflected varying levels of regulatory risk.

Despite those concerns, DCMS maintained that Gambling Commission licence fees operate on a cost-recovery basis and are intended to reflect the cost of regulation rather than generate additional government revenue.

The revised fee structure will now be implemented through secondary legislation ahead of its planned commencement on 1 October 2026.