Corporate enablers
People
Our most important asset is our people. This year we will continue to develop and implement elements of our people and culture strategy which will help ensure we can attract, recruit and retain a diverse and talented team of people who can help deliver our work to make gambling safer, fairer and crime free.
We will: Enhance our employee value proposition and employer brand to enable us to attract, recruit and retain talent. We will focus on key priorities including, pay and reward, learning and development, inclusion, HR policies and HR systems.
Why: To deliver our strategy we will need to continuously improve, and we will do this by further increasing the engagement of every colleague and improving our organisational effectiveness. We aim to be a first-class regulator that attracts, recruits and retains diverse and talented people who are able to realise our ambition of making gambling safe, fair and crime free.
As a result: We will maximise the potential of our existing people enabling us to retain key skills and expertise whilst also attracting new and diverse talent into the organisation. We will retain the necessary knowledge and skills to support those we regulate, including having an understanding of the gambling market and regulation, enabling us to implement proportionate and effective approaches to help make gambling fair, safe and crime free.
And the impact for our stakeholders will be: Highly skilled, engaged and motivated employees will be more impactful in their roles implementing proportionate and effectives regulatory approaches, providing consistent and knowledgeable regulatory oversight of the gambling sector. By continually improving employee engagement and organisational effectiveness we can build trust and confidence with our stakeholders. Our focus on our Employee Value Proposition will enable us to attract, recruit and retain talent. An inclusive culture that values different perspectives and skills will enhance our ability to innovate and adapt to changing regulatory needs.
Effective stakeholder engagement
To enable our people to deliver excellent service we also need efficient, effective processes and systems in place. Whilst our processes and systems serve us well we maintain an approach of continual improvement in this space to ensure we deliver the best service we can with the resources available to us.
Refining our communication with licensees and building on our international partnerships
We will: Further enhance our communication channels for licensees and potential licensees alike - allowing us to optimise the handling and management of incoming contacts, providing appropriate proactive and reactive support to better achieve compliance at the earliest opportunity.
We will also continue with international engagement activities to share best practice, learnings and tackle common concerns such as illegal gambling.
Why: We have taken learnings from our industry engagement over the over the past 12 months, which has included operator workshops, roundtable discussions, the launch of the Industry Forum, as well as the piloting of a single point of contact for licensees into the Gambling Commission. These have allowed us to better understand what licensees need from us as the regulator, the challenges they face, and build a relationship with them that is much more positive and proactive.
We recognise the need to build strong relationships with fellow gambling regulators and other stakeholders and partners to ensure we can operate effectively in tackling the illegal market – to the benefit of consumers.
As a result: Licensees will receive the support and information they need to approach their license applications or compliance concerns more quickly and know who within the Commission to make contact with and how to do so. This proactive engagement will mitigate the need for additional work down the line, improving efficiency of activities in areas such as application reviews and regulatory returns. In turn the Commission will develop better understanding of queries and their root causes which helps us proactively address issues.
We will have strong international partnerships which allow us to collectively tackle the illegal market in a joined-up way. Through this collaboration, we can share our experiences and also learn from other regulators about trends, opportunities and risks emerging both within their jurisdictions and globally.
And the impact for our stakeholders will be: Licensees and prospective licensees will be better informed about how they can engage with the Commission, with clearer routes for licensing and compliance queries, supporting them to be compliant at the earliest opportunity. For our international partners, they will gain insights into our work, and collective share knowledge which supports effective and productive working relationships to tackle some of the biggest issues affecting the sector – such as illegal gambling. For consumers this will mean better regulation, and less risk of being targeted by the illegal market.
Resources
Review of licence fees
We will: Develop advice to Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) recommending that the current licence fees are reviewed. Subject to Ministerial and Cabinet Office approval, DCMS will consult on proposals for changes to licence fees.
Why: Licence fees need to be set at a level that enables us to fully recover our costs of regulation, and our advice to DCMS will be informed by our medium-term financial forecasting. We need to ensure that fees are set at an appropriate level for us to recover our regulatory costs beyond the current 2024 to 2027 Corporate Strategy. Any proposals for changes to fees would be subject to consultation, and fees must then be set in legislation by the Secretary of State.
As a result: Subject to Government proceeding to consultation, and any changes to fees being implemented, we will be appropriately funded to continue to deliver our programmes of work beyond the current 3-year Corporate Strategy period.
And the impact for our stakeholders will be: By securing sufficient funding for the future, we will continue to ensure that gambling is safe, fair and free from crime, for the benefit of consumers, the wider public and for licensees. A review of fees will also provide certainty for licensees that our regulatory costs are recovered fairly and proportionately from different sectors of the gambling industry.
Funding framework for regulation
We will: Continue to work with DCMS to explore options for changing the legal framework under which licence fees are set, further to the White Paper commitment. This will require a legislative vehicle for Parliament to deliver changes to the fee-setting powers in the Gambling Act 2005. We will work with DCMS towards consulting on the principles that would replace those existing powers.
Why: The current process for reviewing fees relies on the Secretary of State to amend fees periodically via regulations. This leads to an inflexible funding system which creates a mismatch between the current and future demands on the Commission and the resources available to it.
As a result: Government will have workable options to deliver the White Paper commitment. As is the case with other regulators who have the authority to set their own fees, a more agile fee setting system can support effective regulation into the future.
And the impact for our stakeholders will be: We will have a greater ability to protect consumers and the wider public from new and emerging risks to the licensing objectives. This is because, by securing greater flexibility in the fee-setting process, we will be able to respond more quickly to new challenges of market regulation, through better financial resilience. The flexibility to review fees more frequently will also enable us to ensure that the system of cost recovery through fees remains fair for licensees.
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Financial forecast
Last updated: 7 April 2025
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