Balancing regulation and growth in Great Britain's gambling sector

The UK government has a renewed focus on growth and innovation, and in particular on cutting regulatory ‘red tape’. In February, it was reported that the Chancellor of the Exchequer [the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP] had told cabinet ministers to conduct ‘a full audit’ of Britain’s 130 regulators to ensure that they are “configured to encourage growth”.

As the government champions a pro-growth agenda, the tension between growth and regulation in Great Britain’s gambling sector is under the spotlight, and the Gambling Commission (GC) faces the challenge of fostering an environment that supports innovation and investment, while ensuring that appropriate consumer protection measures are in place.

The Gambling Commission – going for growth?

Regulating for growth sounds like a contradiction – the purpose of a regulator, primarily, is to enforce standards and ensure compliance with law/regulation, with the purpose of safeguarding consumers and the public interest.  Since 2017, however, the GC (along with other national regulators) has been subject to the ‘Growth Duty’, a statutory scheme that recognises that regulators can encourage growth through policy decisions and the approach they take to regulation, including in their relationships with regulated businesses. The Growth Duty requires regulators to “have regard to the desirability of promoting economic growth… and ensure any regulatory action they take is necessary and proportionate”.

Historically, there have been criticisms of the GC’s approach to regulation, and many will be sceptical of whether it does actually have regard to promoting economic growth in its decision making. It rarely publishes detailed impact assessments when consulting on significant regulatory changes, for example, and its approach to the use of cryptocurrencies in gambling businesses can perhaps best be described as analogue, and increasingly out of kilter with the government’s pro-tech approach to both crypto and other emerging technologies.

A balanced approach: regulatory challenges and changes on the horizon

The GC does, however, face a challenge in balancing the need for growth with the need to protect consumers. The gambling sector is economically significant: per the Betting and Gaming Council’s (BGC) latest economic impact assessment, its members alone paid about £2.8bn in taxes in 2023. It is also a sector that is under continual scrutiny, with lobbyists frequently calling for extreme policy changes that are rarely evidence-led. 

The GC must navigate these external pressures carefully. The 2023 white paper into the Gambling Act review saw the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) – under the Conservative government – take a balanced approach to regulation, recognising the need for regulation that protects consumers without stifling innovation and growth. If growth is to be encouraged, it is imperative the GC continues to tread this line amid the wave of regulatory changes impacting the online sector in 2025.

It is easy to lose track of the dizzying number of changes to online gambling regulation that have taken place only in the last six months, which, along with new changes that will shortly come into force, will have a significant impact in 2025.  As a reminder:

• August 2024: Financial vulnerability checks came into force with a net deposit threshold of £500 in a rolling 30-day period (reduced to £150 in February 2025).
• September 2024: The GC’s financial risk assessment pilot launched (and is expected to conclude in April 2025).
• November 2024: New personal management licence requirements.
• January 2025: Numerous changes to the RTS for online games design.
• April 2025: Introduction of the new statutory levy and online slots stake limits.
• May 2025: New rules on direct marketing.
• October 2025: New rules to enhance consumer control over deposit limits and ensure transparency around the protection of customer funds.

Amid the noise of the anti-gambling lobby and those calling for ever more stringent regulation, the GC must not lose sight of the number of changes the online sector is being required to implement in a very short space of time. The potential cumulative impact of these changes cannot be underestimated, and it will be critical for the GC to ensure that it analyses and understands the impact of these changes before considering any further changes to regulation. Collaboration and communication with the industry will be vital if this is to be achieved.

Sian Harding is an associate in the betting and gaming team at Mishcon de Reya LLP.  She advises businesses within the gambling sector on a wide range of regulatory, corporate and commercial matters, from licence applications and software agreements through to multi-jurisdictional corporate transactions.  She has particular expertise in regulatory compliance, with significant experience advising gambling operators undergoing regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings.