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  3. What we do

What we regulate

The Gambling Commission is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (opens in new tab).

We regulate the following types of gambling:

  • arcades
  • betting
  • bingo
  • casinos
  • gaming machine providers
  • gambling software providers
  • lottery operators (excluding small society lotteries)
  • remote gambling (where the key equipment is based anywhere in the world) and the gambling products and services are offered to consumers in Great Britain
  • remote gambling (done either online or by phone) that uses key equipment within Great Britain
  • The National Lottery across the United Kingdom.

Key equipment means electronic or other equipment used to facilitate remote gambling including:

  • to store information relating to a person's gambling
  • to present a virtual game, virtual race or other virtual gambling
  • to determine or effect all or part of a result
  • to store information relating to a result.
The Commission does not regulate the provision of remote gambling in Northern Ireland, but it is an offence under the Gambling Act 2005 to advertise remote gambling to consumers in Northern Ireland unless the business holds a Gambling Commission licence.

Our regulatory remit

We are responsible for issuing personal gambling licences for individuals and gambling operating licences for businesses operating in Great Britain.

We set requirements for all our licensees. These are the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). We carry out assessments to make sure that licensees are following our requirements.

We use our regulatory powers to take enforcement action if we find individuals or businesses failing to follow our rules and regulations. We can also assess a licensee’s ongoing suitability to hold a relevant license, particularly if there is evidence of misconduct abroad and that does include in Northern Ireland. We can also refer cases to relevant authorities abroad. You can read the latest enforcement action we've taken.

The Gambling Commission’s functions are set out in the Gambling Act 2005 (opens in new tab) as amended by the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 (opens in new tab).

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Who we regulate

Last updated: 10 December 2025

Show updates to this content

Details about Northern Ireland regulatory remit added

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