United Kingdom

For years, the U.K. maintained one of the most progressive regulatory frameworks for online gaming in the world. The Gambling Act 2005 modernized regulations, created the U.K. Gambling Commission and set out conditions around consumer protection and social responsibility for remote operators.

he 2005 Act initially allowed EEA and “whitelisted” jurisdictions to offer services into Britain without a local license, but this changed with the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, which introduced a point-of-consumption regime requiring any operator transacting with British customers to hold a U.K. license and pay a Remote Gaming Duty. The 15% point-of-consumption tax on gross profits introduced in 2014 has since been raised (for example to 21% on online casino games), significantly increasing the tax burden on operators.

Online gambling in Britain covers remote betting, casino, bingo, lotteries and gaming machines, delivered via internet, mobile and other remote technologies, all subject to technical standards and social-responsibility codes (e.g., self-exclusion, time-out tools, limits, interaction requirements). Binary options have been moved from gambling regulation to financial services supervision under the FCA, no longer sitting under the Gambling Act.

On 14 April 2020, the UK Gambling Commission implemented a ban on gambling with credit cards, covering all remote gambling and most land-based sectors (with limited exceptions for non-remote lotteries), to reduce harm from gambling with borrowed money.

As part of White Paper implementation, the government and Gambling Commission are:

Introducing online slot stake limits, with confirmed limits of £2 for 18–24-year-olds and £5 for players aged 25 and over, due to take effect from September 2024.

Rolling out phased financial-risk checks at specified net-loss thresholds.

Consulting on mandatory data sharing, improvements to safer-gambling tools and new rules for game design and advertising.