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Gambling regulation in Great Britain

The Gambling Act 2005 regulates gambling in Great Britain. The act has three licensing objectives:

• preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime
• ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way
• protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling

The Gambling Commission oversees and enforces the act. The commission issues operating licences for gambling operators and publishes licence conditions and codes of practice. Local authorities are responsible for issuing premises licences to authorise gambling on particular premises.

This briefing gives an overview of the regulatory framework. It also summarises what is being done to protect people from gambling-related harm. Recent developments include:

• the introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators to generate £100 million for the research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms
• limiting the stake limits for online slots (a higher-risk gambling product associated with large losses and long sessions) to £5 per spin for adults aged 25 and over and £2 per spin for 18–24-year-olds
• the forthcoming introduction of gambling impact assessments

On 11 August 2026, to address the concentration of betting shops on British high streets, the government announced that it intends to remove the "aim to permit" provision from the Gambling Act. The provision means that local authorities must usually grant licences for gambling premises, unless doing so would be inconsistent with the act's licensing objectives. The government has said that the change would "give communities and councils a stronger say over whether new betting shops are right for their area, helping stop them spreading unchecked across struggling high streets".