Most Gambling Commission fees rise from October 2026

Most Gambling Commission licence fees will rise from 1 October 2026, but the 25% headline does not apply uniformly. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) confirmed the final approach in its government response, updated on 30 June 2026 after a consultation that closed on 30 March.

The practical task is not simply to add 25% to every regulatory-fee line. Society-lottery fees are frozen, the calculation for general betting (limited) operating licences changes, and DCMS says the increase across operating-licence categories will not be evenly distributed.

The fee map

| Fee or licence group | Treatment from 1 October 2026 |
| --- | --- |
| Most operating licences | Headline 25% increase, distributed differently across categories |
| Society-lottery licences | Fees frozen |
| General betting (limited) operating licences | Moves from days of operation to a gross-gambling-yield schedule |
| Personal licences | 25% increase |
| Variations and changes of corporate control | 25% increase |
| Supplementary operating licences and single-machine permits | 25% increase |
| First annual fees | Continue at 75% of the relevant annual fee |

The exact annual, application and other amounts are set out in Annexes One, Two and Three of the response. Operators and suppliers should use those schedules rather than the headline percentage as their budgeting source.

The exception that may reduce costs

The revised treatment of general betting (limited) licences is not a flat uplift. Fees will be determined by gross gambling yield instead of days of operation. DCMS estimates that **44%** of operators in that category will receive a fee reduction, while a further **53%** will see an increase of only £22, from £230 to £252.

That makes licence classification and current GGY assumptions material to the forecast. A generic 25% budget adjustment could overstate the impact for some on-course bookmakers and miss the new calculation basis entirely.

What finance and legal teams should do

Before the effective date, firms should:

1. map each operating, personal and ancillary permission to the relevant annex;
2. identify applications, variations and corporate-control changes likely to fall on or after 1 October;
3. replace days-of-operation assumptions for general betting (limited) licences with the published GGY bands;
4. keep society-lottery licences separate from external lottery manager permissions, because the freeze does not extend to external lottery managers; and
5. update approval papers and 2026–27 budgets with the actual fee, not a portfolio-wide percentage estimate.

DCMS considered calls for phased implementation but said it does not intend to phase the changes. The intended effective date is therefore the relevant planning line.

Why the government chose 25%

The consultation offered headline options of 30%, 20%, or 20% plus a ringfenced 10% for illegal-market work. DCMS rejected those options and chose a 25% increase without a ringfence. It said the Commission is running annual deficits of about £4 million and, even after the increase, will need at least £8 million in further efficiency savings over five years.

Separately, HM Treasury has confirmed £26 million over three years for work against illegal gambling. DCMS presents that funding and the licence-fee changes as distinct mechanisms.

Secondary legislation is intended to implement the new schedule. The immediate control point is the 1 October 2026 effective date and the category-specific figures in the official annexes.

**Official source:** DCMS government response and fee annexes (updated 30 June 2026).