Gambling Commission Calls for Industry Proposals to Cut Regulatory Red Tape: A Comprehensive Guide

Gambling Commission Calls for Industry Proposals to Cut Regulatory Red Tape: A Comprehensive Guide

Overview of the Call for Proposals

The UK Gambling Commission has issued a final reminder that its open call for proposals to reduce or simplify regulatory burdens will close on Friday 25 September. This initiative is not a standard consultation—it is a targeted invitation for licensees, stakeholders, and interested parties to submit practical ideas for streamlining rules, guidance, and administrative processes that currently impose unnecessary costs or complexity.

The exercise was launched on 26 June as part of the Commission’s 2026/27 Business Plan, which prioritises supporting consumer-focused innovation while maintaining regulatory consistency. The Commission wants to identify specific areas where the burden of compliance can be lessened without weakening the core protections of the Gambling Act 2005.

Key Dates and Background

The Business Plan states: “We intend to support consumer focussed innovation, ensuring consistency with regulatory requirements. Subject to resource, we will additionally review industry proposals to reduce regulatory administrative burdens and identify any proposals to amend regulations or improve the communication of them.”

This means the Commission is open to considering changes that may require legislative action, and it will advise the government accordingly if strong, evidence-based proposals emerge.

What the Commission Is Trying to Achieve

The Gambling Commission’s Policy and Research team is leading this exercise with a clear objective: to make compliance costs proportionate to the risks faced by consumers. The goal is not to weaken oversight but to remove outdated, overlapping, or unclear requirements that no longer serve their original purpose effectively.

Specifically, the Commission aims to:

• Identify rules that have become out of date due to changes in technology, market practices, or other regulatory updates.
• Pinpoint unclear or ambiguous guidance that leads to inconsistent interpretation or unnecessary administrative effort.
• Highlight requirements that overlap with other obligations, creating duplication without added consumer benefit.
• Suggest ways to streamline or rationalise existing technical standards, reporting formats, and licensing conditions covered by the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) .

What Types of Proposals Are Sought?

The call is open to any stakeholder—operators, trade bodies, technology providers, consumer groups, or legal experts—who can identify a specific regulatory burden that could be reduced. The Commission is looking for practical, evidence-based proposals, not general complaints. Each submission should address three core elements:

1. The nature of the burden – Describe the current rule, guidance, or process. Explain why it is problematic (e.g., cost, time, confusion) and how it no longer fits the intended purpose.
2. The risks to consumers – Outline any potential impact on consumer protection if the change were made. The Commission must be satisfied that the proposal does not compromise the Gambling Act’s three principal objectives:
   • Keeping crime out of gambling
   • Ensuring gambling is fair and open
   • Protecting children and vulnerable people
3. Implementation costs and evaluation – Provide an estimate of the cost savings or efficiency gains, and suggest how the effectiveness of any change could be measured after implementation.

Example Areas for Proposals

• Technical standards – e.g., outdated requirements for system testing that could be replaced by more modern, risk-based approaches.
• Reporting requirements – e.g., duplicative data submissions that could be consolidated or made less frequent.
• Guidance documents – e.g., overlapping advice on remote gambling, self-exclusion, or advertising that could be merged or clarified.
• LCCP conditions – e.g., conditions that were designed for land-based operations but are applied inflexibly to online-only businesses.

What Is NOT in Scope

The Commission has set clear boundaries to avoid reopening settled policies or undermining recent reforms. The following are excluded from this call:

• Policies still under active consultation – The Commission will not consider detailed proposals on matters that are currently being consulted upon separately.
• Recently introduced measures – Any rule or requirement that has been implemented in the last few years and whose long-term effects have not yet been evaluated will only be revisited if accompanied by very strong evidence of adverse consequences.
• The consumer protection package from the 2023 White Paper – The Commission explicitly states that this exercise is not intended to reopen the measures introduced through the Gambling Act Review and the subsequent white paper. Those protections are considered settled policy.

This means proposals should focus on older, legacy requirements or areas where regulatory creep has occurred over time.

How to Structure Your Submission

To increase the likelihood of your proposal being taken seriously, follow this recommended outline:

• Title and summary – A concise statement of the proposed change and the expected benefit.
• Current requirement – Reference the specific LCCP rule, technical standard, or guidance paragraph.
• Why it is problematic – Provide evidence of cost, inefficiency, or confusion. Use examples or data where possible.
• Proposed solution – Describe the alternative (e.g., remove, simplify, consolidate, clarify).
• Consumer risk assessment – Explain how the principal objectives remain protected. If there is any residual risk, suggest mitigations.
• Implementation plan – Outline what would need to change (regulatory amendments, guidance updates, system changes) and the likely timeline.
• Evaluation metrics – Suggest how the Commission could measure success (e.g., reduction in compliance hours, fewer queries, improved operator understanding).

Submissions should be sent to the Commission’s Policy and Research team before the deadline. No formal template is required, but clarity and evidence are essential.

Potential Impact and Next Steps

After the deadline, the Commission will review all proposals against its statutory duties and resource availability. If a proposal is deemed viable, the Commission may:

• Revise its own guidance or administrative processes internally.
• Recommend changes to the LCCP that can be made through regulatory powers.
• Advise the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on legislative amendments that would require parliamentary approval.

The exercise is part of a wider push for regulatory proportionality in the UK gambling sector, following years of rapid expansion and multiple policy reviews. Successful proposals could lead to tangible cost savings for operators and more efficient oversight for the regulator—while preserving the high standards of consumer protection expected by the public.

Final Checklist for Stakeholders

• Confirm the proposal addresses an existing rule, not a new policy area.
• Avoid suggesting changes to the 2023 White Paper consumer protections.
• Provide concrete evidence of burden (e.g., hours spent, cost, error rates).
• Include a clear risk assessment.
• Show how the change can be evaluated post-implementation.
• Submit before Friday 25 September.

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