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Delivering our objectives and duties

We summarise our objectives and duties in our vision:

We want a fair, safe and crime free gambling market where consumers and the interests of the wider public are protected.

This strategy will improve gambling regulation and move us closer to that vision. The following outcomes reflect our vision, regulatory role and remit. All of our work is ultimately aimed at helping deliver these headline regulatory outcomes. We will demonstrate our progress in delivering them by measuring and publishing impact metrics associated with each outcome.

Protecting from harm or exploitation

We work to ensure that:

  • under 18 years old are unable to gamble on age-restricted products provided by our licensees
  • vulnerable people are protected from gambling-related harm by effective regulatory requirements and compliant licensees.

Fair and open gambling

We work to ensure that:

  • products and services provided by licensees are fair and deliver what they promise
  • consumers are able to make informed choices about their gambling
  • licensees ensure consumer issues are addressed fairly and promptly.

Preventing crime

We work to ensure that:

  • it is difficult to provide illegal gambling at scale to consumers in Great Britain
  • licensed gambling poses a low risk of money laundering and terrorist financing
  • the integrity of betting markets and events with a footprint in Great Britain is high.

The National Lottery licence

We work to ensure that:

  • all aspects of the National Lottery are run in a fit and proper manner
  • the interests of every participant, playing, engaging or being exposed to the National Lottery, and every game, are protected
  • returns to good causes are maximised.

What we are seeking to achieve over the next three years is set out under each commitment in this strategy. Delivering on the commitments will improve our performance in achieving the headline regulatory outcomes.

We will also publish a suite of operational key performance indicators to measure the outputs of our core regulatory work.

Together this performance measurement framework will improve transparency for the public and licensees, and guide our continuous improvement work.

Our performance measurement framework

Licensing objectives and National Lottery duties

A fair, safe and crime free gambling market where consumers and the interests of the wider public are protected.

Regulatory outcomes

Measured and published using impact metrics.

Strategy commitments

Delivered through annual business plans. Measured and reported using annual reports.

Operational key performance indicators

Publishing data on how we are delivering our core work.

Statutory Functions – our ‘core business’

We aim to work in a way that is transparent, accountable, proportionate, consistent, and targeted at areas in which action is needed.

We carry out a number of statutory functions that deliver the licensing objectives and duties. We set out our approach in our Statement of principles for licensing and regulation (this excludes functions related to the National Lottery).

Our statutory functions are to:

  • licence operators and key individuals who provide gambling in Great Britain
  • set requirements through licence conditions and codes of practice on how gambling is provided
  • assess the compliance of licence holders
  • enforce regulatory requirements and prosecute Gambling Act offences
  • publish a Statement of principles
  • advise the Secretary of State on gambling and gambling regulation
  • issue guidance to Licensing Authorities.

Our statutory functions as regards to the National Lottery are to:

  • grant the National Lottery operator licence
  • grant game licences
  • manage conditions on the National Lottery licence
  • enforce the National Lottery licence.

These functions form our core business and continue to be the backbone of our work. This strategy focuses on what we will change and improve to achieve our objectives over the next three years.

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Areas of Strategic Focus for 2024 to 2027

Last updated: 8 April 2024

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