The UK’s gambling industry has spent years adapting to tighter consumer protection requirements, new compliance expectations and changes stemming from the Gambling Act Review. Now, the Gambling Commission is turning its attention to another part of the regulatory equation. They would like to know whether some of the rules and processes operators deal with have become unnecessarily complicated or costly.
The regulator has reminded licensees and other industry stakeholders that its call for proposals on reducing regulatory burdens will close on Friday, September 25.
This is not a consultation on a specific set of rule changes. Instead, the Commission is asking the industry to identify regulations, guidance and administrative requirements that could potentially be simplified without weakening the protections built into the UK’s gambling framework. The exercise forms part of the Gambling Commission’s 2026/27 Business Plan and has been running since June 26.
Industry Asked to Identify the Friction
The central question is whether the cost of complying with gambling regulation remains proportionate to the risks it is designed to address.
The Commission’s policy and research team is looking for practical suggestions that could reduce administrative costs while maintaining the core objectives of the Gambling Act. Those include keeping crime out of gambling, ensuring gambling is conducted fairly and openly, and protecting children and vulnerable people.
That leaves plenty of room for industry input, and the operators can point to areas covering technical standards, regulatory guidance, reporting obligations and requirements contained within the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice. The Commission is particularly interested in rules that may no longer work as originally intended because the market, technology or wider regulatory framework has changed.
There is also scope to flag requirements that overlap with one another, guidance that is unclear or processes that could be streamlined. The Commission says proposals should explain the potential risks to consumers, the costs involved in making changes and how any resulting change could be assessed.
Not Every Rule Is Up for Debate
The timing of the exercise is important because the Commission is not presenting it as an opportunity to roll back recent gambling reforms. The regulator has specifically warned that the process is not intended to reopen the consumer protection measures introduced following the Gambling Act Review and the government’s 2023 white paper.
That also means recently introduced rules are unlikely to be high on the list unless there is strong evidence that they have produced significant unintended consequences. Similarly, detailed proposals relating to policies that are still under consultation are unlikely to be taken forward through this exercise.
What Happens After September 25?
As it stands, the wider goal is to find areas where compliance can become more efficient while keeping the underlying consumer protections intact. The Commission has also indicated that its work could go beyond changes it can make directly. Where legislation would need to be amended, it could potentially provide advice to government on measures that might be changed through new legislation.
That makes the exercise potentially relevant beyond individual reporting requirements or pieces of regulatory guidance. After the deadline, the Commission will have to assess which suggestions can realistically reduce administrative burdens, which would require further work and which would risk undermining the regulatory objectives that remain in place.
