The UK gambling inquiry 2025 has been launched by cross-party MPs, reopening scrutiny into a £15.6 billion gambling market whose fastest-growing slice is remote casino and betting. Remote gambling contributed £6.9 billion of that total, up 6.9 percent year-on-year and 20.3 percent on pre-pandemic levels. The Treasury’s Remote Gambling Duty consultation, which closed at 23:59 on 21 July 2025, has reignited concerns about offshore migration, adding fiscal urgency to the timing of the inquiry. For a full breakdown of how this could affect the horse racing sector, see SiGMA News’ deep dive on the Remote Betting Duty debate.
The inquiry, opened on 17 July by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Gambling Reform, aims to evaluate whether the current legislative framework remains fit for purpose. Think of it as a regulatory MOT: the 2005 Act’s creaking frame, the White Paper’s promises, and whether the wheels of reform ever turned.
Chairing the inquiry is veteran Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who warned that existing oversight mechanisms are not keeping pace with a fast-moving industry. “The previous Government’s White Paper marked a step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done to ensure our regulatory framework is fit for the digital age to protect people from harm.”
The UK gambling inquiry in 2025 boils down to this: Can old promises outrun new problems, or is risk rewriting the rulebook faster than reform?
What the UK gambling inquiry 2025 is trying to fix
The inquiry will evaluate the extent to which the 2023 White Paper proposals have been implemented and where significant gaps remain, including:
- The statutory levy, which came into effect in April 2025, channels over £100 million annually into gambling-related research, harm prevention, and treatment delivery. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is now steering the ship, and £30 million has already been allocated for national campaigns aimed at doing more than just ticking boxes.
- Financial risk checks: Pilots are live. Enforcement isn’t. And until someone draws the line, no one knows what ‘affordable’ really means.
- The gambling ombudsman, promised for 2023, is yet to be launched.
- Land-based liberalisation: proposals to modernise casino and arcade rules face scrutiny.
- Sponsorship and advertising: The voluntary Premier League ban on front-of-shirt betting sponsors remains a controversial issue.
The APPG will also consider the efficacy of the Gambling Commission, with Duncan Smith describing it as a “soft touch governor” that has allowed repeated operator breaches to go sufficiently unpunished.
Is the Gambling Commission strong enough?
Enforcement has materialised as a key friction point. Since January 2022, the Gambling Commission has concluded more than 30 major enforcement cases, imposing over £100 million (approx. €118 million) in financial penalties. The largest was issued on 28 March 2023: a £19.2 million (approx. €22.6 million) settlement spanning three William Hill entities — WHG International Ltd (£12.5m / €14.7m), Mr Green Ltd £3.7m (€4.3m), and William Hill Organisation Ltd £3m (€3.5m), for serious anti-money laundering and social responsibility breaches.
Other headline actions include a £6 million (€7 million) sanction on Gamesys in January 2024, and a £686,070 (€808,000) penalty for Corbett Bookmakers in March 2025. These are big numbers, but a small change in reality. Every major brand continues to trade, and critics argue that fines have become just another line item in the business plan.
The APPG inquiry will assess whether the Gambling Commission can act decisively with its current powers, or whether Parliament needs to redefine its role. This question will be central to the UK gambling inquiry 2025, especially given the scale of fines issued versus their apparent lack of deterrent effect. Some MPs are also pushing for gambling oversight to shift from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to the Department of Health and Social Care, framing gambling harm as a public health issue.
Where regulation falls behind the risk
The 2005 Gambling Act was designed in an era of betting shops and fixed terminals. Today’s risks often exist online, adapt quickly, and frequently fall outside the rulebook.
- Online slots and live casino dominate digital GGY, offering rapid-play formats that blur the line between entertainment and exposure.
- Developers now design gamification mechanics and microtransaction betting models to extend session time and deepen emotional commitment.
- Unlicensed crypto casinos and decentralised Web3 platforms offer anonymity, instant withdrawals, and high-risk betting structures — all beyond the reach of UK regulators.
The inquiry will examine how future regulation can address these blind spots, particularly around emerging technologies, platform design, and cross-border consumer protection.
Submissions are invited by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 12 September 2025, via [email protected]. The APPG has confirmed a programme of parliamentary evidence hearings will follow.
What other countries are doing differently
To place Britain’s regulatory direction in context, the APPG will look to other European jurisdictions. Comparing these policy shifts will help frame the UK gambling inquiry 2025 within a more expansive European reform context.
Sweden
- Introduced a ban on aggressive advertising.
- Prohibits cross-border gambling licences.
- Forces operators to create locally compliant, targeted marketing strategies.
Italy
- Rolled out the PIAO 2025–27 reforms.
- Increased auditing frequency and anti-money laundering controls.
- Raised the risk of enforcement action and tightened real-time reporting obligations.
United Kingdom (in progress)
- Implemented a statutory levy to fund harm prevention.
- Begun phased affordability checks.
- Plans to introduce an ombudsman.
- Raises operational costs while aiming to clarify safer gambling responsibilities.
While all three aim to reduce gambling harm, the UK’s model leans more heavily on industry-funded solutions and a balance between consumer protection and operational viability.
What the reforms could mean for the market
Industry analysts expect regulatory pressure to accelerate market consolidation, with smaller operators struggling to absorb new compliance costs. The statutory levy alone represents a shift from voluntary contributions (as low as £1 annually in some cases) to mandatory proportional funding.
Reform could also reshape player behaviour. Tighter stake caps and affordability checks may reduce net spend, while higher compliance standards could force marketing teams to rebuild trust in a post-tracking environment.
Regulators have yet to confirm how, or even whether, they will classify emerging product areas, such as esports betting, influencer partnerships, and decentralised gaming models.
The inquiry also unfolds against the backdrop of a Treasury consultation on Remote Betting & Gaming Duty, due to close on 21 July 2025, which has reignited industry warnings about player migration to offshore markets. To understand the proposed shift to a single Remote Duty and why it matters for operators, read SiGMA News coverage of HMRC’s tax reform plans. Several operators argue that rising compliance costs and tax pressure are already driving frictionless alternatives beyond UK licensing.
A chance to rewrite the rulebook
With submissions due by mid-September, the APPG aims to publish its findings before the end of the year. The timeline now pressures the current Labour Government to decide whether to introduce a new Gambling Act by mid-2026 or adapt the one already in place.
A recent experimental survey by the Gambling Commission’s new Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) suggested that 2.5 percent of adults scored eight or more on the PGSI. By contrast, long-running studies like the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) place problem gambling prevalence at just 0.4 percent. The Commission cautions that the two datasets aren’t directly comparable: the GSGB uses online methods that may detect higher-risk behaviours, while the APMS relies on face-to-face interviews, which tend to yield lower rates. Even so, the framing of gambling as a public health issue may shape future ministerial decisions.
For operators, this is not a drill. Speak up now or risk getting written out of the rules altogether. The call for evidence isn’t just a formality. It’s the first move in what could become Britain’s next rewrite of gambling law.
