UK Gambling Levy Triggers Rethink on Where Fines Go

_{Industry stakeholders, charities, and the public can review the proposal and submit their views. (Image: Alan Evans/Casinos.com)}

The UK Gambling Commission is consulting on a key change to the destination of regulatory settlements following the government’s introduction of a new statutory levy on gambling operators.

Under the proposed update, financial settlements, such as payments made in lieu of penalties, would no longer be directed to GambleAware or other charitable initiatives. Instead, the Commission plans to send all future regulatory settlement funds to the Consolidated Fund, which supports UK public spending.

Rollout Part of Wider Reforms

The proposal is tied to the UK government’s rollout of a statutory levy on gambling operators, announced as part of its wider reform of gambling laws. The mandatory levy is designed to fund research, education, and treatment (RET) of gambling harms through a central commissioning model, which will be overseen by the National Health Service (NHS) and the Department for Health and Social Care.

Until now, the Gambling Commission could agree on regulatory settlements with licensees that included payments to socially responsible causes, often administered by GambleAware, a charity funded by voluntary industry donations.

But the statutory levy effectively replaces that model, rendering the dual funding system redundant. The Commission now aims to avoid overlap and streamline where these funds go.

“The Commission proposes to align the future destination [of regulatory settlements] to that of financial penalties and direct regulatory settlements to the Consolidated Fund,” the consultation states. 

“This proposal takes account of the new levy commissioning structures and avoids a dual system or any duplication of work funded by the statutory levy.” 

The change would also boost transparency by ensuring that all public money, whether from financial penalties or regulatory settlements, is treated uniformly and accounted for within government expenditure.

Invite to Review and Submit Views

The Commission has opened a public consultation, inviting responses to the proposal. While regulatory settlements have historically supported initiatives addressing gambling-related harm, the new levy’s structure makes that model less viable.

The consultation is open until 13 March 2026. Industry stakeholders, charities, and the public can review the proposal and submit their views via the Gambling Commission’s official website.

The Commission noted that regulatory settlements will continue to be part of its enforcement toolkit but that their financial routing needs to reflect the broader policy shift.