Cashless principles and player protections

How to Get a UK Gambling Licence: Complete 2025 Guide for Online Gaming Operators

Making it an offence for a person to invite, cause or permit a child or young person to use these machines should act as a further incentive to abide by the rules. The current industry voluntary code allows these machines to remain alongside all other types of Category D machines. Moving them to an age restricted area would disproportionately impact small businesses who are reliant on streams of income from all of their different types of machines. In addition, as the maximum stake on these machines is 10p, these machines are less likely to be played in an area where there are Category C machines which have a maximum stake of £1 and can often be played at different staking levels up to this maximum. The industry has said that they are primarily used by family members who are 18 or over, while children play machines like crane grabs and coin pushers in the same area. They do not have any age restricted areas as they have no adult-only machines.

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The UK Gambling Commission requires operators to contribute financially to organisations focused on research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harm. The list of operators and personal licence holders who have had a regulatory sanction imposed on them is published on the site of the Gambling Commission. They also collaborate with other UK organisations and the police in cases where suspicious betting or gambling activities are detected. Apart from reviewing the activities of the licensed operators, the Commission is authorised to take regulatory actions against those licencees who breach the rules in some way.

A senior industry source called on Andy Burnham, a lifelong Everton fan and a vocal critic of the gambling industry, to condemn the deal. She was proved right within weeks, when Everton FC signed a three-year sleeve sponsorship deal with the crypto casino Stake.com, ignoring guidance from the Gambling Commission urging clubs to think twice before pursuing such deals. Stella David, chief executive of the Ladbrokes owner Entain, wrote to the gambling minister, Baroness Twycross, in early June, urging the government to act fast because sponsorship agreements with unlicensed firms were “surely now being finalised”. But a landmark sponsorship deal, signed during the delay, vindicated concern voiced by one of the UK’s largest licensed gambling firms.

Cashless principles and player protections

It was also raised that these machines can be converted to adapt a card reader for contactless payment, but adding a chip and pin device for every transaction in most cases would either not be technically feasible or cost effective. Respondents from the pub sector also raised issues with verification for each transaction on Category D crane grab machines. Overall, they would either prefer the current contactless payment restrictions to apply for debit card payments on machines or for chip and pin to only be required at the beginning of any session. While this option does not provide as great an increase in commercial flexibility as Option 3, Option 2(b) and, potentially for some operators, Option 1, the evidence received suggests that the vast majority of operators would benefit under this option. While not as liberalising as Option 3, responses from some operators indicated that increases in Category B cabinets would not be vastly different to projections provided for Option 3.

• Should there be mandatory limits (default limits for time and monetary thresholds) on machines accepting direct cashless payments?
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• With 2,662 active operator records tracked in the Gambling License Register, the UK represents the largest single jurisdiction in this database by licence count.

If you no longer need your licence, you can surrender it, partially or in full. This is a condition of your licence under LCCP Condition 8 – Display of licensed status. When you are issued a licence, we will display the details of your licence on the register. We provide details of all businesses and individuals we licence on our Public Register service. Including information on how we carry out assessments, your responsibilities under the LCCP and other gambling-related legislation. Guidance and information for running a compliant gambling business.

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427.These sections prescribe the procedure for making an application for a premises licence. 426.In addition to responsible authorities, a wider group of people may play a role in the premises licensing process under this Part. This is the case, for example, for a casino licence under Part II of the Gaming Act 1968 or a bookmaker’s permit under the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963. 415.This section sets out the principles that licensing authorities should apply when exercising their premises licensing functions under this Part. Other sections in this Part give permission for particular kinds of premises licence to authorise more than one type of activity.

This indicates that an applicant poses a substantial risk to the licensing objectives; or there are significant concerns about an applicant’s suitability; or there is a risk of significant non-compliance with the requirements of the Act and the Commission’s LCCP. There is a positive obligation on applicants to show that they are able to satisfy the licensing objectives. In some circumstances the Commission may attach specific conditions to the licence, which may, for example, have the effect of restricting the activities that may be carried out in reliance on the licence. On considering an application for a licence the Commission is required to grant it, refuse it or grant it in respect of one or more of the specified activities and refuse it in respect of the others. However, the responsibility for taking the lead in developing and updating measures designed to protect the licensing objectives lies principally with an operator.

Those licensees who want to utilise the new entitlements will have to apply to the relevant licensing authority to vary the premises licence, so the premises layout plan reflects changes in operation. Conditions may, in particular, limit the number of machines that may be provided in a casino and the number of player positions that may be provided for use of the machines. Such equipment, which neither involves nor is linked to a game requiring human operation, is not a gaming machine provided it is used in accordance with Commission licence conditions set under this subsection (section 235(2)(i)). 450.In relation to casino entitlements, the Secretary of State can make regulations defining “gaming table”, and, in particular may specify when a gaming table is to be treated as being used in a casino. 445.In addition, licensing authorities have power to set individual conditions for a premises licence when they grant it.

Compliance Requirements After Licensing

Reports suggest that an estimated 2.5% of adults in the UK have experienced problem gambling. Your peace of mind matters, and we’re here to help you make informed choices for a secure and enjoyable gaming journey. We’ve done the legwork to ensure that your gaming experience is not only entertaining but also risk-free. So, the fastest options you can choose are e-wallets like PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller, which allow same-day withdrawals.

Fees depend on gross gambling yield. It strengthens your market position, builds consumer trust, and unlocks access to one of the most profitable and reputable gambling markets in the world. Understanding common pitfalls in advance helps you plan effectively and ensures a smoother, faster licensing experience. You must implement safer gambling tools like deposit limits, affordability checks, and self-exclusion mechanisms. The UK Gambling Commission actively monitors licensed operators to ensure they meet strict legal, technical, and social responsibility obligations.

There was not a uniform view on what an alternative deposit limit should be, with responses ranging from £50 to £500. Industry’s perspective was mixed, with some responses stating that the limits for cashless payments should mirror the current ones to minimise the risk of delay to implementing the relevant legislation. There were a range of responses to the questions relating to maximum deposit and committed payment limits. In relation to taking a cautious approach, we think that a £100 limit is appropriate considering that our aim is to try and replicate the process by which someone uses cash to play on a machine.

This means that many FEC operators do not currently have age-controlled areas and would have to invest in creating such an area for what is a low stake product. This view was most strongly argued by licensing authorities. 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 non gamstop casinos or are entirely unlike adult gambling products. The majority of responses were in favour of an age restriction.

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If you run a gambling business for profit without the relevant licences, you could be committing an offence and you could be prosecuted. We act for businesses throughout the world in applications for UK Gambling Commission Operator’s Licences and UKGC and local authority premises licences. Independent, hands-on reviews of UK Gambling Commission–licensed online casinos.

The lack of direct cashless payment methods on gaming machines contrasts with the cashless options that consumers have within the wider retail economy. As such, any change in the composition of gaming machines which results in a higher share of Category B machines will represent an uplift in GGY for operators. We will use the responses to this consultation as well as wider engagement with the sector to gather data to estimate the likely uptake of additional machines and removal of existing machines under each option. The rationale for considering this option is primarily to ensure that a truly balanced offer of gaming machines is available to customers following the loosening of restrictions from 80/20. As some of the differences between 1968 Act and Small 2005 Act casinos are brought in line, operating and premises licence fees and mandatory licence conditions should be harmonised accordingly. We propose that an operator must notify the licensing authority of their intention to increase their number of gaming machines.

The Gambling Act 2005 permits the advertising of gambling in all forms, provided that it is legal and there are adequate protections in place to prevent such advertisements undermining the licensing objectives. Local licensing authorities also provide lottery registrations and gambling permits for pubs, clubs and other establishments for low-level gambling. If your equipment is based in the UK or if you offer gambling to UK residents, you need a UK Gambling Commission licence. There are certain exemptions from holding an operating licence for small lotteries and small raffles run not for profit and for fundraising for societies, schools and clubs only. In addition, where the business is based at premises, you will require a premises licence. He leads the firm’s cross-departmental alcohol and gaming licensing teams.

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. It could also mean that the same gambling facilities are compressed into a smaller gambling area, with potentially a worse customer experience and no player protection benefits.