UK Gambling Licence Fees to Rise 25% From October 2026

The UK government has confirmed that gambling licence fees will increase from October 2026, closing out a consultation on how the Gambling Commission should be funded going forward. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport published its response after a review that ran from January to March, and the outcome resets how much operators pay to hold a licence in the UK market.

Under the new framework, licence fees will rise by 25% overall. The increase touches nearly every part of the sector, though the actual cost will depend on which type of licence an operator holds. The government is also introducing new fee categories for most operating licences, a change that will reshape how businesses budget for compliance.

Nothing takes effect immediately. The changes still require secondary legislation before they become law, and if that legislation passes, the new fees will apply across the UK from 1 October 2026.

New Fee Structure Brings Different Outcomes Across Licence Types

The government’s response lays out several moving parts. Operating licences will see a 25% increase, and the same rate applies to personal licences, supplementary operating licences, single machine permits, applications to vary an operating licence, and changes in corporate control.

Society lotteries are the one clear exception. Their fees stay exactly where they are, even as most of the rest of the sector absorbs the higher rate.

Holders of non-remote general betting limited licences, mostly on-course bookmakers, will see a different calculation method entirely. Instead of basing fees on days of operation, the Gambling Commission will assess them using a market-share approach tied to gross gambling yield. Operators in this category should expect their bills to move independently of the wider 25% figure.

The Commission has said businesses should read the detailed annexes attached to the government’s response, because the fee adjustments differ by licence category. Further guidance is expected in the coming weeks, including confirmation of which new category each operator falls into. Classification decisions will rely on the regulatory return data operators submit for the 2025-26 reporting period, so accurate reporting now carries extra weight.

Government Chose the Middle Option After Consultation

Before landing on 25%, DCMS looked at other paths. Officials weighed a straight 30% increase, a lighter 20% rise, and a 20% increase paired with a separate 10% charge earmarked for illegal gambling enforcement and revenue protection work. In the end, the department settled on a standalone 25% rise rather than bundling in the enforcement surcharge.

Operators broadly opposed any fee increase during the consultation. Many argued the industry had already absorbed several rounds of higher costs in recent years and needed room to adjust. The government acknowledged those pressures but pointed out that licence fees still represent a small share of annual gross gambling yield, so it saw no strong case for phasing the increase in gradually. Officials also argued that a staggered rollout would add complexity without delivering much real benefit to operators or the regulator.

Illegal Gambling Funding Remains a Sticking Point

One area of disagreement never fully resolved: how to pay for the fight against illegal gambling. Some operators pushed back on the idea that licence fee increases should help fund enforcement against unlicensed platforms, arguing instead that government departments should cover those costs directly rather than passing them on to licensed businesses.

This debate has picked up urgency as both government and industry watch unlicensed gambling activity grow. Figures cited by the Betting and Gaming Council put wagers on illegal platforms at more than £16 million during 2025, a number that has fed concern over consumer protection and lost tax revenue.

The government has already moved on this front outside the fee consultation. It previously announced £26 million in additional funding for the Gambling Commission to strengthen enforcement, and it has set up a dedicated Illegal Gambling Taskforce led by Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross. That taskforce is expected to dig into payment systems tied to unlicensed operators and look at whether sponsorship deals between unlicensed gambling firms and English sports teams should face new restrictions.

What’s Next

Industry groups have largely welcomed the tougher stance on illegal operators. Where support drops off is the funding mechanism itself, and that gap between backing the goal and disputing who pays for it looks set to continue well past October.

For now, the immediate takeaway for licensed operators is straightforward. UK gambling licence fees are going up by 25% from October 2026, secondary legislation permitting, and businesses have a narrow window to review their licence category and prepare for the new cost structure before it lands.