UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Bahar Alaeddini, David Whyte and Jessica Wilson, Harris Hagan
The fines were issued as a result of numerous social responsibility and AML failures. 11.3 Financial Penalties A financial penalty imposed by the Gambling Commis- sion will usually consist of two elements: • an amount to reflect any detriment suffered by consumers and/or remove any financial gain made by the licensee as a result of the contravention or failure; and • an amount that reflects the seriousness of the contravention or failure, the impact on the licensing objectives, and the need for deterrence. The Gambling Commission will take into account all material circumstances of the case, such as: • the seriousness and duration of the breach; • the level of any financial gain from the breach; and • the extent of steps taken to remedy the breach. From October 2025, the Gambling Commission will ordinarily approach the quantum of a financial penalty by following a seven-step process set out in its updat- ed Statement of Principles for Determining Financial Penalties. Following the seven-step process, the Gambling Commission will ordinarily further consider: • any aggravating or mitigating factors; • the need to increase the penal element of a fine to ensure it is a sufficient deterrent (“deterrence uplift”); • the application of a discount to the penal ele- ment of a fine where an early resolution has been reached; • an adjustment of the total penalty to ensure it is affordable; and • an adjustment of the total penalty to ensure it is proportionate to the circumstances of the case. It is worth noting that the financial elements of regula- tory settlement, which are not sanctions, are calculat- ed differently. The Gambling Commission also has the power to impose a financial penalty without carrying out a licence review. • whether it is a first-time offence; • the involvement of management;
The Gambling Commission is responsible for issuing and enforcing financial penalties regarding any LCCP breaches. Any contravention of the Gambling Act 2005 is a criminal offence in itself and will trigger a potentially unlimited fine, enforced by the courts, and imprisonment for up to 51 weeks (see 3.6 Penalties for Unlawful Gambling and 9.5 Sanctions/Penalties ). It is worth noting that any payment made as part of a regulatory settlement is not a financial penalty (as it is not a sanction) and is a payment made in lieu of a financial penalty. These regulatory settlements are treated differently by the Gambling Commission and could, theoretically, be enforced by recommencing the licence review. The following gambling tax rates are effective from 1 April 2022 and are applicable at the time of writing (November 2025). These are expected to materially increase in the Autumn Budget of 26 November 2025, with remote gaming duty and machine gaming duty expected to increase the most. • Bingo – the bingo duty due will be 10% of bingo promotion profits for each promoting period. • Betting – the duty rates depend on the type of bet, as follows: 12. Tax 12.1 Tax Rate by Sector (a) 15% of “net stake receipts” for fixed-odds bets, totalisator bets on horse or dog races, and bets taken on betting exchanges; (b) 3% of “net stake receipts” for financial spread bets; (c) 10% of “net stake receipts” for all other spread bets; and (d) 15% of the commission charges charged by betting exchanges. • Casino (“gaming duty”) – the current casino gam- ing duty rates are tiered based on gross gaming yield, as follows: (a) 15% of gross gaming yield for the first GBP2.686 million; (b) 20% of gross gaming yield for the next GBP1.852 million; (c) 30% of gross gaming yield for the next
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