The relationship between British sport and gambling could look very different within the next few years. This is because the government has proposed banning gambling operators that do not hold a Gambling Commission licence from sponsorship and physical advertising across sport and other sectors. Its preferred timetable would bring the ban in from August 2027, […]
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Could higher gambling taxes provide a solution to Britain’s rising household costs? Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown believes they could, putting Machine Gaming Duty back under the spotlight with a proposal that could raise to £500 million. His proposal would focus on adult gaming centres (AGCs), which operate large numbers of gaming machines, while excluding […]
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The return of Premier League football is set to bring another surge of betting activity. Still, the excitement surrounding the new season comes alongside a growing concern for UK gambling regulators: the expansion of the illegal betting market. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) estimates that unlicensed operators could take up to £800m in bets […]
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Germany has eased one of the strictest restrictions in its regulated online gambling market, raising maximum online slot stake limits for the first time since nationwide regulation was introduced in 2021. The changes, which took effect on 1 July, replace the blanket €1-per-spin cap with a tiered system based on a player’s age and gambling […]
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Europe’s illegal online gambling market continues to expand at a rapid pace, with a new study estimating that unlicensed operators targeting EU consumers generated €91.6 billion in 2025. The figure, presented during a European Parliament roundtable hosted by the European Casino Association (ECA), represents an increase of around 14% from the previous year’s estimate and […]
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Betfred operator Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited has agreed to pay £900,000 following an investigation by the UK Gambling Commission into shortcomings in its social responsibility controls, adding another high-profile enforcement case to the regulator’s ongoing focus on customer protection. The settlement follows a compliance assessment that found weaknesses in the operator’s ability to identify and respond […]
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The UK government has confirmed a 25% increase in Gambling Commission licence fees, providing the regulator with greater long-term funding as it continues implementing reforms outlined in the 2023 Gambling White Paper. Published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the government’s response to its funding consultation concludes a review that ran between […]
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Europe’s online gambling industry has had its share of issues. Progress has been made in some areas, but as always emerging factors continue to crop up. Now it is entering a more difficult phase where the biggest issue is no longer growth, but whether regulators are pushing too much activity outside the licensed market. The […]
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English football’s relationship with gambling sponsorships has been a thorny issue in recent times. Now, it is facing renewed scrutiny after Entain formally urged the Independent Football Regulator to block Premier League clubs from partnering with unlicensed betting operators targeting UK consumers. The move adds pressure to an already controversial area of football finance as […]
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While the debate around UK gambling reform has focused heavily on tighter rules for licensed operators, a new warning from the Betting and Gaming Council shifts attention elsewhere. The bigger risk, it argues, may be the growing visibility of illegal gambling operators, whose advertising spend is climbing fast enough to challenge the licensed market itself. […]
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