Leicester AGC operator fined £150,000 after ignoring self-exclusion rules

^{A UK amusement arcade lined with slot machines, similar to Holland Park Leisure's Leicester premises. (Photo: Mutney / Wikimedia Commons)}

The Gambling Commission has fined Holland Park Leisure Limited £150,000 for failing to join a self-exclusion scheme designed to protect people from gambling harm. The operator, which runs three Adult Gaming Centres in Leicester, knew about the requirement but did not sign up until the Commission suspended its licence in October 2025.

Gambling Commission uncovers self-exclusion scheme failure at Leicester AGCs

The penalty relates to a breach of Social Responsibility Code provision 3.5.6, which requires all consumer-facing land-based gambling businesses in Great Britain to take part in a multi-operator self-exclusion scheme. The scheme lets people who feel they are struggling with their gambling exclude themselves from every participating premises in their area, not just one.

The Commission found that Holland Park Leisure had been made aware of its obligation to join the scheme but did not do so. It took the suspension of the company's operating licence in October 2025 to force compliance. The financial penalty was imposed under section 121(1) of the Gambling Act, and the Commission's decision is dated 31 July 2026.

Operator ordered into third-party audit alongside the fine

Beyond the £150,000 penalty, Holland Park Leisure must now undergo a third-party audit of its policies, procedures and controls, and of how well its staff are trained to recognise and manage self-exclusion. The Commission has not published the audit's terms or a completion date.

Three Leicester gaming centres and their customers

Holland Park Leisure is registered at 213 Hinckley Road, Leicester Forest East, and holds one operating licence covering three premises. The Commission's public register lists the company under account number 3027, with a single sanction recorded against it to date.

Anyone who visited one of the three centres and wanted to self-exclude across multiple venues in the area could not rely on this operator to honour that request until the scheme was in place. The Commission has not said how many customers, if any, were directly affected during the non-compliance period, and that detail is not in the published decision.

Commission flags misleading information as an aggravating factor

John Pierce, the Commission's Director of Enforcement and Intelligence, said: 'Self-exclusion schemes provide a crucial service for people who feel they are suffering gambling harm. It is important that all operators fully integrate with the scheme and maintain effective safeguards for self-excluded customers.'

'These are not optional requirements. They are fundamental licence conditions designed to protect consumers from harm, and operators that fail to meet them can expect regulatory action.'

The Commission's public register records a single aggravating factor behind the higher penalty: officials had already warned Holland Park Leisure about the non-compliance, the operator did not act on that warning, and it then gave the Commission misleading information about its position.

Third-party audit to test whether compliance holds

The Commission said Holland Park Leisure took remedial action once its licence review began, and it will now use the third-party audit to check that the fix is genuine rather than a response to scrutiny alone. No date has been given for when that audit will conclude or report back.

Part of a wider push on land-based licence compliance

The case lands as Leicester's wider land-based gambling sector has drawn scrutiny this year, particularly around how AGC operators handle player protection duties.

It also follows a pattern of enforcement in which the Commission has worked to strengthen oversight of licensed operators, underlining that self-exclusion compliance remains one of its clearest enforcement priorities for 2026.

Whether other Adult Gaming Centre operators treat this case as a warning may become clear the next time the Commission publishes its regulatory actions register.