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Find out how we work with other agencies to ensure the right outcomes for the public, players and businesses.
Published: 10 August 2020
Last updated: 4 June 2021
This version was printed or saved on: 29 April 2024
Online version: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/about-us/guide/how-we-work-with-other-organisations-and-agencies
Overview: We want the best outcome for everyone. Sometimes we are not always the right agency to lead on enforcement action.
We work closely with the following organisations and agencies:
Responsibility for regulating gambling marketing and advertising is shared with a number of partner agencies.
We work closely with these partners to ensure a collaborative and effective approach to regulation:
The Gambling Act 2005 (opens in a new tab) designates certain classes of local authorities in England and Wales (and licensing boards in Scotland) as licensing authorities.
Licensing authorities have a number of important regulatory functions in relation to licensing premises for gambling, including:
You can find your local council on GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)
Where appropriate, we'll share specific intelligence or information with other partners. For example, betting operators, sports governing bodies (SGBs), overseas regulators and others, both nationally and internationally.
In some cases this information may then be used by these bodies in their investigations. For example, a sports governing body investigating a breach of its sports rules.
If you suspect illegal or suspicious activity concerning sports betting or events, you can report this to us, using our confidential reporting service.
We may also conduct our own investigation or support law enforcement investigations in cases where criminality is suspected.
The SBIU (Sports Betting Intelligence Unit) provide advice to SGBs who are developing their betting integrity strategies. We also collaborate on a national level as part of the Sports Betting Integrity Forum (opens in a new tab).
The Forum brings together representatives from across sport, law enforcement, regulators and betting businesses who work together to implement the Sports and Sports Betting Integrity Action Plan.
We have an established, collaborative relationship with the police and National Crime Agency (opens in a new tab) (NCA) for mutual intelligence sharing.
We follow the protocols of the National Intelligence Model (NIM). It unifies standards when sharing local intelligence with the police, or national or international issues of serious organised crime with the NCA.
Together with the police and NCA, we are members of the Government Agency Intelligence Network (GAIN). The network is based within police regional organised crime units and supports the coordination of activity.
The development of intelligence can result in a collaborative enforcement approach.
This might cover issues such as:
We are working with the Competition and Markets Authority (opens in a new tab) (CMA) to look at terms and conditions in the gambling industry.
We have agreed a joint programme of work to ensure that gambling businesses’ terms are fair and transparent.
This is in response to concerns that consumers have raised about the gambling industry on issues such as cancelling bets, altering odds after bets have been accepted, and offering misleading sign-up promotions.
We advise HM Treasury (opens in a new tab) on issues which effect the gambling industry. For example, the development of anti-money laundering (AML) policy.
We are also a member of the AML Supervisors Forum (AMLSF) which shares good practice and ensures consistency in the approach to AML supervision.
This is another way for us to share information with HM Treasury, other government bodies, law enforcement agencies and other AML supervisors.
We have a responsibility to make an annual report to HM Treasury on how we carry out our functions as an AML supervisory authority for the gambling industry.
We have an information sharing agreement with HMRC (opens in a new tab) which sets out the practical arrangements required to support the provisions of the Gambling Act 2005 and governs the disclosure of information.
HMRC has responsibility for the administration and collection of duties related to gambling, including:
This means that both organisations are often in possession of information that is of use to one another. By utilising the information sharing agreement, we can regularly help each other’s inquiries and investigations.
Responsibility for regulating gambling marketing and advertising is shared with a number of partner agencies. We work closely with these partners to ensure a collaborative and effective approach to regulation.
The ASA (opens in a new tab) is the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media. It applies the Advertising Codes, which are written by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP). Its work includes acting on complaints and proactively checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements.
Ofcom (opens in a new tab) is the communications regulator in the UK.
The Gambling Act 2005 imposes a duty on Ofcom to set, review, and revise standards for gambling advertisements on TV and radio. However, Ofcom has subcontracted responsibility for the regulation of most forms of broadcast advertising to the ASA. Ofcom is the back-stop regulator and retains overall responsibility for the advertising rules.
Ofcom retains principal responsibility for the enforcement of rules relating to TV programme sponsorship and teleshopping.
The ICO (opens in a new tab) is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
The ICO enforces the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) which sits alongside the Data Protection Act. PECR contains specific rules on marketing calls, emails and texts, and the use of cookies (and similar technologies).
The PSA (opens in a new tab) is the UK regulator for content, goods and services charged to a phone bill.
Gambling operators offering Premium rate services (PRS) are required to comply with the PSA Code of Practice and the Remote Gambling Notice of Special Conditions.