Guidance to licensing authorities Casino premises licence conditions

Millions of people enjoy gambling every year – whether that be putting money on a horse, playing at a casino, or a bet on the football – and much of this is now done through smartphones. The growing popularity of online gambling is clear to see, so this announcement will level the playing field with the land-based sector and is the next step in a host of measures being introduced this year that will not on gamstop protect people from gambling harms. Although millions of people gamble safely every single day, the evidence shows that there is a significantly higher problem gambling rate for online slot games. The decision follows a 10-week consultation period in which the majority of respondents agreed with the gambling white paper proposal to introduce statutory limits for online slot games to help reduce the risk of gambling harm.

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legislation.gov.uk

Measures relating to casinos – one draft affirmative and one made negative statutory instrument. In general, responses received from gambling industry respondents typically argued for the most liberalised position across the range of measures outlined in the consultation. We received 87 responses to the land-based gambling consultation. In the past year or so, the Gambling Commission has introduced a series of curbs on gambling, including raising the age limit for playing the National Lottery and banning the use of credit cards. The commission has been criticised by some MPs for being toothless and ill-equipped to cope with the shift online. The British public spent £2.2bn on online slot games in 2019, according to the Gambling Commission, and some estimates say the UK now accounts for 15% of these types of games.

(Optional response)Yes / No / I don’t know However, given the relatively low level of annual fees per premises at present, we consider this to be unlikely. It is possible that there will be wider costs if the increase in fees means that existing premises are unable to afford their total fees and close down as a result, or if new premises decide not to open due to the higher fees. We also require a better understanding of how licensing authorities will amend their fees in response to an increase in the maximum fee cap. The additional annual cost per premises and the total additional annual funding for licensing authorities has been estimated using existing premises numbers.

This chapter of the consultation received 46 responses, mainly from licensing authorities and industry. We will also work with the relevant trade bodies and operators to understand the feasibility of implementing voluntary test purchasing to help understand whether operators are abiding by this new restriction. This is an important measure to create a clear distinction between gambling products for adults and lower risk products accessible to children (such as crane grabbers or coin pushers) which have non-cash prizes or are entirely unlike adult gambling products. The majority of responses were in favour of an age restriction. For example, the information could be displayed to customers at regular intervals (such as every 5 minutes for a 30 second period) or be readily available to customers, at their discretion, no further than one button press away.

The Gambling Commission will also need to be notified of an operator’s projected annual licence fee category based on GGY for the forthcoming licence period, so that the correct fees can be paid. Therefore, we are consulting on how best to allow casinos to move onto the new regime. Currently, the Gambling Commission’s guidance to licensing authorities states that an application for a variation of a premises licence will only be required where there are material changes to the layout of the premises.

All licensed operators must display their UKGC account number on their website — this is a core requirement of the updated rules. The our tested operators are administered by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), the statutory body responsible for regulating all commercial gambling in Great Britain. Only players reaching significant loss thresholds are asked to provide payslips or bank statements. For most recreational players these checks run silently in the background.

However, some reviews can be based on an individual’s experience at any casino site. The UKGC regulations are the same though regardless of whether the casino is in England or overseas. By having a UKGC licence, each site has to follow strict guidelines on transparency, service and security. You need to broaden your horizons and have a wide number of games at your disposal.

For more context on how regulation works in practice, see our UK casino regulations 2026 overview. If a site cannot show a valid UKGC account number, UK residents should not play there. The these UK-licensed sites tighten these requirements significantly compared to the previous decade, closing those gaps with binding new rules. The UK gambling laws represent the most significant overhaul of British gambling regulation in two decades, building on the Gambling Act 2005 and the Government’s landmark 2023 White Paper. If you need support, our responsible gambling UK guide lists free resources including GamCare and BeGambleAware.

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• The increase in Category B machines is expected to be even higher for Option 3, where no restrictions would be applied.
• We also acknowledge concerns about an increased availability of machines potentially leading to greater opportunities for gambling-related harm.
• (2) The premises must contain a table gaming area, the floor area of which is no less than the lesser of—
• Though offshore casinos aren’t explicitly illegal, they must have a licence from the Gambling Commission to accept players from the UK.You’ll also find complaints online about fixed or rigged games on casino sites.
• They ensure they move with the times, whether that is the size of their welcome offer or the amount of casino and slot games they have available.

In making this recommendation we recognise the potential advantages that 1968 Act casinos may have over Small 2005 Act casinos that elect to move to the new regime, in terms of Schedule 9 payments and the portability of licences. Some operators were keen to highlight the increasing cost burden for land-based casinos in other areas, but acknowledged the logic of applying consistency across regimes. This measure will also bring greater consistency to the different licensing regimes and greater parity between online and land-based casinos.

Failing to meet the size requirement in any of these three areas will result in a lower machine entitlement. Industry has raised some concerns about how areas like bars would be categorised if sports betting terminals were placed in them. If its gambling area is 500sqm or more, its non-gambling area must be equal to or greater than 250sqm.

How do you expect the measures allowing more gaming machines in 1968 Act casinos that meet certain size requirements to affect the demand for gaming machines in casinos? While we anticipate that many casinos of a suitable size will take up the option to increase their gaming machine allowances under these proposals, we are aware that some casinos will not want to site more than 20 gaming machines. Under the increased gaming machine allowances that we propose, if a venue held multiple premises licences, it could theoretically gain access to 80 gaming machines per licence.

Under the the casinos in our table, a £20 bonus now requires a maximum of £200 in wagering before you can withdraw. Under the old rules, some casinos imposed requirements of 40x, 50x, or even 65x. Only players reaching significant loss thresholds are asked to provide documents such as payslips or bank statements. This is a minor inconvenience for most recreational players but an important harm-reduction measure. The UK casino regulations represent the most significant overhaul of British gambling law in over two decades. With a background in business analytics and certification in responsible gambling practices, he brings a data-driven, compliance-focused approach to every review.

The Commission will conduct a future review of the gaming machine technical standards. However, there is no uniformity across land-based machines as a whole. The Bacta Limit Setting standard of 2022 enables players to set voluntary limits on session times, as well as limits on the amount of credit that can be inserted within a session. There are existing limits which can be set on machines, as well as cooling-off periods for when these limits are hit. These tools prompt players once these limits have been reached.

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5.—(1) This paragraph applies to all premises in respect of which a converted casino premises licence has effect. (b)the converted casino premises licence is not varied under section 187 of the 2005 Act(4) so as to relate to premises to which it did not relate on that date. (3) Sub-paragraph (2) does not apply to premises in which the floor area of the gambling area of the casino was 1,500m² or greater on 12th May 2025 provided that, after that date— (5) No gambling is permitted in the table gaming area of the premises other than gambling by way of table gaming.

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Equipment technical requirements

However, we believe that a variant of this feature would help customers to keep a track of their play. Around two-thirds of the respondents agreed that the customer’s session time and net position should be displayed at all times while the remaining third thought that this should not be implemented. We propose that such messaging should also be displayed at specific points during the customer’s play, namely during the (minimum) 30 second transaction time and during any cooling-off periods when voluntary or mandatory thresholds are hit. This research recommended that the use of personalised messaging based on an individual’s own patterns of gambling may be more effective than generic messages.

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If the dealer’s hand is below 17, they must take another card, regardless of what the player’s hand is. The IA should, however, provide a more robust, balanced assessment of societal costs because of the risk of increased gambling harm, as well as providing more narrative on international evidence. The IA notes, however, that operators are less likely to be small and micro businesses due to the amount of capital and numbers of staff they need to operate.