UK: DCMS confirms 25% rise in Gambling Commission licence fees from October

Funding pressures at the Gambling Commission will lead to higher licence fees for most gambling operators in Great Britain from Oct. 1, 2026, after the Department for Culture, Media and Sport confirmed a 25% increase in operating licence fees.

The increase will be introduced through secondary legislation and will apply across most licence types. DCMS said the Commission is currently operating with an annual budget deficit of around £4 million ($5.36 million) and will still need to find at least £8 million ($10.72 million) in further efficiency savings over the next five years, even after the fee rise.

The final 25% figure sits below the 30% increase initially floated in the consultation process. DCMS ran the consultation between January 27 and March 30, 2026, receiving 47 responses, mostly from operators, suppliers and representative bodies.

Three options were considered: a flat 30% increase, a flat 20% increase, or a 20% increase with a further 10% ringfenced for work on illegal gambling. Only two respondents supported the 30% option, while none backed the ringfenced version. DCMS rejected all three consultation options and settled on a standalone 25% headline increase with no ringfencing attached.

The new fee structure follows a period in which gambling operators have faced several additional costs, including reformed gambling duty rates and the incoming statutory levy for research, prevention and treatment.

The 25% rise will apply to personal licences, supplementary operating licences, single machine permits, licence variations and changes of corporate control. First annual fees will continue to be charged at 75% of the annual rate.

DCMS also rejected calls from operators for a phased introduction. The department said licence fees remain a small share of gross gambling yield, or GGY, across the industry regardless of operator size.

For operators with GGY above £100 million ($134 million), fees will rise from about 0.1% to about 0.15% of GGY. Operators with GGY between £10 million ($13.4 million) and £100 million ($134 million) will see fees rise from about 0.18% to about 0.22% of GGY. More than 1,100 operators with GGY below £10 million ($13.4 million) will see fees fall in cash terms.

On-course bookmakers will not all face the same impact as other licence holders. Operators licensed under the general betting limited category will move from a fee system based on days of operation to one based on GGY.

Under the previous structure, the lowest band paid £230 ($308.20) for one to 75 days of operation. From October 1, 2026, the lowest band will pay £252 ($337.68) for operators with less than £100,000 ($134,000) in GGY. DCMS figures show the revised approach will reduce fees for 44% of operators in the general betting limited category. A further 53% will see only a £22 ($29.48) increase.

Society lottery licence fees will be frozen, with DCMS citing concern that higher fees would reduce the amount lotteries can pass to good causes. External lottery managers are not included in that exemption. As commercial entities rather than charities, they will face the full 25% increase.

The fee increase will not fund the Commission’s separate expansion of work against unlicensed operators. That activity is being supported through £26 million ($34.84 million) in additional Treasury funding over three years, which had been confirmed previously.

The final decision leaves most operators facing higher regulatory costs from October, while giving society lotteries a full exemption and shifting on-course bookmakers to a yield-based model that DCMS says will affect operators unevenly across that sector.