UKGC Issues Final Call to Reduce Regulatory Burdens
United Kingdom.- 24 September 2026 | www.zonadeazar.com The UK Gambling Commission has issued a final call for licensed operators and industry stakeholders to submit proposals aimed at reducing or simplifying regulatory burdens.
The deadline for submissions is Friday 25 September 2026.
Call Open Since June
The exercise was originally launched on 26 June.
It forms part of the Commission’s 2026/27 Business Plan and is intended to identify opportunities to make gambling regulation more efficient.
Not a Consultation on Specific Changes
The UKGC has stressed that the exercise is not a formal consultation on predetermined regulatory reforms.
At this stage, the regulator is gathering ideas from operators and other stakeholders.
Areas That Can Be Reviewed
Submissions may address:
- Technical requirements.
- Regulatory guidance.
- Administrative processes.
- Reporting requirements.
- Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice.
- Rules that may have become outdated.
Regulatory Simplification
The Commission wants to identify requirements that could be:
- Simplified.
- Rationalised.
- Clarified.
- De-duplicated.
- Updated following wider legislative changes.
Cost of Compliance
One of the central themes is the cost associated with regulatory compliance.
The UKGC believes both the cost of complying and the cost of demonstrating compliance should remain proportionate to consumer risk.
Consumer Protection Remains Central
The initiative is not intended to lower the fundamental safeguards of the British gambling market.
Any proposal must remain consistent with the principal licensing objectives of the Gambling Act.
Three Core Objectives
These objectives are:
- Keeping crime out of gambling.
- Ensuring gambling is fair and open.
- Protecting children and vulnerable people.
Practical Proposals
The Commission is asking for practical and workable suggestions.
Businesses are expected to explain how a proposed change could reduce complexity or cost without weakening existing protections.
Outdated Requirements
One area of interest is regulation introduced under circumstances that have since changed.
Legislative, technological and regulatory developments may have left some requirements less effective or unnecessary.
Unclear Guidance
The Commission also wants to identify areas where existing guidance is difficult to interpret.
Clearer requirements could reduce compliance uncertainty and unnecessary operational cost.
Overlapping Obligations
Stakeholders can highlight requirements that duplicate or overlap with others.
The regulator wants to avoid businesses repeatedly demonstrating the same compliance outcome through similar processes.
Regulatory Reporting
Reporting obligations are among the areas that may be raised.
Operators can identify processes they believe could be made less complex while preserving the Commission’s access to necessary information.
Technical Standards
Submissions may also address current technical standards.
These include requirements applying to remote systems, products and operational processes.
Consumer Risk Assessment
Proposals must explain any potential risk to consumers.
The Commission wants to ensure administrative simplification does not create unintended player-protection consequences.
Implementation Costs
Stakeholders are also expected to consider the cost of implementing their suggested changes.
This will allow the regulator to assess whether reform would deliver genuine operational benefits.
Measuring the Outcome
The UKGC wants proposals to consider how any future change could be evaluated.
That would allow the regulator to determine whether simplification delivered its intended benefits.
Legislative Changes
Some proposals could fall outside the Commission’s direct powers.
Where necessary, the UKGC could provide advice to government on measures requiring legislative amendment.
Working With Government
The 2026/27 Business Plan explicitly allows for the Commission to recommend regulatory changes that need government action.
This means the exercise could ultimately influence wider gambling legislation.
Consumer-Focused Innovation
The Commission has linked the exercise to its aim of supporting consumer-focused innovation.
It wants to enable development while maintaining consistency with regulatory requirements.
What Is Unlikely to Be Considered
The UKGC said it is unlikely to prioritise detailed proposals concerning policies that are still under consultation.
The aim is to avoid duplicating existing regulatory processes.
Recently Introduced Measures
The Commission is also unlikely to revisit measures that have only recently been introduced and whose long-term effects have not yet been assessed.
Strong evidence of adverse consequences would be required to reopen them.
2023 White Paper
The regulator has explicitly stated that the exercise is not intended to reopen the consumer-protection package introduced through the Gambling Act Review and the 2023 White Paper.
Those reforms will continue through their existing implementation processes.
Changes Already Scheduled
The British market is still implementing several changes arising from earlier consultations.
New deposit-limit requirements, for example, are due to take effect on 30 September 2026.
Deposit Limits
From that date, remote operators must offer gross deposit limits and reserve the term “deposit limit” specifically for limits meeting that definition.
The Commission previously extended the implementation deadline to allow additional technical development time.
Regulatory Balance
The exercise reflects an attempt to balance two objectives.
The UKGC wants to preserve strong consumer safeguards while removing processes that create cost without delivering proportionate regulatory benefits.
Industry Context
The British gambling market is undergoing substantial regulatory change following the Gambling Act Review.
Operators are simultaneously adapting to new requirements across player protection, product, compliance and technology.
The current call provides an opportunity to review the efficiency of that framework without dismantling its core reforms.
Next Steps and Impact
Operators and stakeholders have until 25 September to submit their proposals.
The Gambling Commission’s Policy and Research team will then assess the suggestions received.
Some could lead to changes in guidance or administrative requirements, while others may require recommendations to government for legislative reform.
The outcome could shape the next phase of British gambling regulation, with a greater emphasis on clarity, proportionality and efficiency.
Editó: @fonta
