A gambling license in the UK is issued by the Gambling Commission, the regulator for gambling in Great Britain. This guide covers who needs one, which licence types matter for online casinos and betting, and what the Commission charges. The fee tables are the ones in force since 1 October 2026.
It is general information, not legal advice. Anyone applying should read the Commission’s current pages and take advice from a lawyer who knows UK gambling law. Content is for adults aged 18 or over.
Who needs a UK gambling licence
The Commission’s remote casino page states the rule plainly: “Regardless of where you are based in the world, you need a licence from us if: you are providing facilities for gambling to consumers in Great Britain online (or through any other means of remote communication) any part of your remote gambling equipment is based in Great Britain.” (Remote casino operating licence, Gambling Commission, read 2026-10-28).
Two points follow from that wording.
- Where the company sits does not matter. A business based in Malta, Curaçao or anywhere else still needs a licence if it offers gambling to people in Great Britain. The test is who the gambling is offered to, or where the equipment is.
- “Great Britain” is the remit. The Commission regulates England, Scotland and Wales. This page does not cover Northern Ireland or other jurisdictions, which have their own rules.
For you as a player, the practical side is on our UKGC guide. On 28 October 2026 the Commission’s public register listed 137 active remote casino operating licences, out of 4,506 licence rows of all kinds (Gambling Commission public register licence file, downloaded 2026-10-26 and counted by GiroReal). That is a count of licence rows of one type on one date, not a count of companies or brands. How to use the UKGC public register shows how to repeat it.
Licence types for online gambling
The Commission says “There is a remote operating licence for each type of gambling activity you might want to provide.” A business that offers casino games and betting needs the matching licence for each (or a combined licence where the Commission allows one, see below). The types most relevant to online casinos and betting sites are these.
| Licence | What it covers, in the Commission’s words or close to them |
|---|---|
| Remote casino operating licence | “This licence allows you to offer casino games to customers via a website, mobile phone, TV or other online service. This includes poker, roulette, blackjack and other casino games, as well as online slot games.” |
| Casino (host) operating licence | For a gambling software business that provides facilities for remote casino games “but only in circumstances in which you host those facilities through other operators’ platforms”. |
| Remote general betting (standard) real events | Betting on real events such as sport. It has its own fee table, shown below. |
| Remote general betting (standard) virtual events | Betting on virtual events. It uses the same fee table as the remote casino licence. |
Sources: the Commission’s licence pages for remote casino, real events betting and virtual events betting, all read 2026-10-28.
The casino (host) licence is the route the Commission describes for software firms whose games reach players only through other operators’ sites. If you run the player-facing site yourself, the remote casino licence is the one that applies.
Bingo and other activities have licences of their own. We have not covered their fee tables here.
What a UK gambling licence costs
The figures below come from the Gambling Commission’s licence pages, which carry the note “Last updated: 1 October 2026” and a banner reading “New fees came into effect on 1 October 2026.” All amounts are in pounds sterling, as published. We have not converted them.
Two kinds of fee apply to an operating licence.
- An application fee, paid once when you apply.
- An annual fee, paid every year while you hold the licence.
Both depend on the business’s gross gambling yield (GGY). In plain terms, GGY is the money a gambler loses to the operator over a year, before the operator’s own costs. The Commission sorts applicants into bands from F1 (smallest) to J1 (largest).
Remote casino licence fees
| Band | Annual GGY | Application fee | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Less than £250,000 | £8,185 | £7,000 |
| F2 | £250,000 or greater, up to but excluding £875,000 | £14,483 | £12,375 |
| F3 | £875,000 or greater, up to but excluding £3 million | £25,628 | £19,569 |
| G1 | £3 million or greater, up to but excluding £10.5 million | £40,475 | £27,337 |
| G2 | £10.5 million or greater, up to but excluding £36.75 million | £55,060 | £51,975 |
| H1 | £36.75 million or greater, up to but excluding £130 million | £74,902 | £112,556 |
| H2 | £130 million or greater, up to but excluding £455 million | £101,895 | £394,875 |
| I1 | £455 million or greater, up to but excluding £1.6 billion | £122,274 | £1,181,625 |
| J1 | £1.6 billion or greater | £165,069 | £1,453,949 plus £272,324 for each complete additional £200 million of annual GGY above £1.6 billion |
Source: Remote casino operating licence, Gambling Commission, “Current application fees” and “Current annual fees”, fee page last updated 1 October 2026, read 2026-10-28.
The same table applies to the remote betting licence for virtual events.
The first-year reduction
The first annual fee is cheaper. The Commission says: “Your first annual fee is due 30 days after your licence is issued and is reduced by 25 percent (ancillary and linked licence annual fees are not subject to this reduction).”
A worked example, our own arithmetic on the figures above: the smallest remote casino band, F1, pays £8,185 to apply. Its first annual fee is £7,000 less 25%, which is £5,250. That makes £13,435 in the first year for the operating licence alone. It does not include personal licences, which are covered below, or any costs outside the Commission’s fees.
Combining licences
A business can combine some activities in one licence. The Commission lists flat extra fees for this:
| Combination | Extra application fee | Extra annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| Two of remote casino, bingo and virtual event betting | £2,100 | £6,250 |
| All three of remote casino, bingo and virtual event betting | £4,200 | £12,500 |
Source: Remote casino operating licence, Gambling Commission, read 2026-10-28. These are added on top of the band fees in the table above.
Remote betting on real events
Betting on real events has a different, lower table. The Commission’s page shows these ranges for the same F1 to J1 bands:
- Application fee: from £6,535 (F1, GGY under £250,000) to £90,648 (J1, GGY £1.6 billion or greater).
- Annual fee: from £5,937 (F1) to £1,402,455 plus £272,205 for each complete additional £200 million of GGY (J1).
The same 25% reduction applies to the first annual fee. Source: Remote general betting standard real events licence, Gambling Commission, read 2026-10-28. Read the page itself for the bands between F1 and J1 before you budget.
Personal management licences
A licensed company also needs named people to hold a Personal Management Licence (PML). The Commission says: “You must hold a PML if you are responsible for the following activities at licensed gambling operators: the overall management and direction of the licensee’s business or affairs …” The full list of activities is on the Commission’s page.
A PML costs £463 to apply for. Before the 1 October 2026 change the application fee was £370, and the maintenance fee also moved from £370 to £463. Sources: Personal Management Licence guide, Gambling Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) response below, both read 2026-10-28.
In our F1 example, each PML holder adds £463 to the first-year cost.
Why fees rose by about 25%
The fees above replaced an older schedule on 1 October 2026. DCMS ran a consultation before deciding. It received 47 responses, “primarily from gambling operators and their representatives”. It then said: “In light of the responses received, we do not intend to proceed with any of the above options. Instead, the changes that will be enacted through secondary legislation are: A headline 25% increase to licence fees, with the exception of: …”
The response adds that the rise would not be shared out equally: “While the overall headline increase to operating licence fees will be 25%, this will not be distributed evenly across all types of operating licence”. So treat 25% as the headline, not a rule for every licence type. The PML figures are a good check: £370 to £463 is a rise of about a quarter, but other licences moved by different amounts.
Source: Government response to the proposals for changes to Gambling Commission fees from 1 October 2026, DCMS (consultation page last updated 30 June 2026), read 2026-10-28.
What the licence does not include
The fees buy the right to apply and to hold the licence. They do not cover the work behind an application. The Commission asks for business plans, policies, system diagrams and evidence of funds, and remote applicants have extra technical documents. Our how to get a gambling license guide lists what to send and the order of the steps.
A licence is also not a promise about any one casino. The Commission can act against licensees that break their conditions, and it acts against unlicensed sites too. In its 2024 to 2025 reporting year it issued 516 cease and desist requests to illegal operators and 352 more to advertisers or affiliates of unlicensed operators (Gambling Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, Gambling Commission). So the licence is an entry ticket to a supervised market, not a seal of approval.
If you are a player, not an applicant
Most readers want to know whether a casino they are looking at is licensed in the UK, not what the licence costs. Three quick steps:
- Find the company name, and the licence number if shown, in the casino’s terms or footer.
- Search the Commission’s register by business name, trading name, domain or account number. Our register guide shows how.
- Match the company, the status and the domain. Our casino licence checker and how to check a gambling licence cover other regulators too.
If you want to see how the UK licence sits beside Malta and Curaçao, read Curaçao vs MGA vs UKGC. If you are new to the topic, start with what a gambling license is. To see how regulators and lists flag unlicensed sites, see regulator warning lists. If a UK-licensed casino lets you down, how to complain about an online casino sets out the steps. If gambling is causing you harm, see our responsible gaming page.
Summary
- Anyone offering online gambling to people in Great Britain needs a Gambling Commission licence, wherever the business is based.
- There is a separate remote licence for each activity, with a casino (host) licence for software firms hosted on other operators’ platforms.
- A remote casino application costs from £8,185 (F1) to £165,069 (J1), and the annual fee from £7,000 to £1,453,949 plus £272,324 per extra £200 million of GGY above £1.6 billion.
- The first annual fee is cut by 25%. Combining licences adds flat fees. A PML costs £463.
- DCMS set a headline 25% rise from 1 October 2026, not spread evenly across licence types.