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  3. The Economic Crime Levy

Guidance

The Economic Crime Levy

Gambling Commission's guidance on the Economic Crime Levy and how licensed casino operators can prepare for it.

Published
30 March 2023

Last updated
19 October 2023 - Changes

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  1. Contents
  2. Submitting an annual return

Submitting an annual return

You must pay the Economic Crime Levy (ECL) to the Gambling Commission if you are a licensed casino operator and your United Kingdom (UK) revenue is greater than £10.2 million in the financial year (pro-rated).

If you are in the small band (UK revenue does not exceed £10.2 million), you will still need to complete a return even though no payment will be made.

You will need to submit a return and pay the levy every year that your UK revenue exceeds the £10.2 million threshold. You will need to declare your UK revenue and pay your liability based on the bandings.

Casinos are required to make yearly submissions only to the Commission. Do not:

  • register for the ECL with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and/or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
  • submit yearly ECL returns or pay the ECL to HMRC and/or the FCA.

You must make yearly submissions to the Commission even if, for example, HMRC also supervises some of your business activities.

How to submit a return

An annual return should be completed that will allow you to report:

  • the length of your relevant accounting period
  • your UK revenue for that accounting period
  • your ECL band and amount due.

You should submit annual returns on a yearly basis, even if you do not meet the threshold for paying the ECL in that year (a Nil Return).

The relevant form to complete the return is The Economic Crime Levy Annual Return (opens in new tab).

To complete your annual return, you will also need to send a copy of your annual accounts, highlighting the UK revenue figure to economiccrimelevy@gamblingcommission.gov.uk.

For businesses who do not publish their income statement in the financial statements, this will need to be included as an extract with any annual accounts that are sent to us.

When you need to pay

You must pay the levy by 30 September each year.

What you must do now

You must notify the Commission that you are liable to pay the levy. Further information on how to do this will be provided shortly.

You should calculate which ECL band you fall into to understand the amount of ECL you must pay by 30 September of each year.

Bank details

Our bank details are:

Bank
Barclays
Account name
THE GAMBLING COMMISSION ECL
Sort code
20-05-75
Account number
13166708
IBAN
GB45BARC20057513166708
Swift code
BARCGB22

The Commission will continue to publish guidance on the ECL, which will include how to submit ECL returns to the Commission and pay the ECL to the Commission. Further guidance will be published in April, including how to submit a return.

HMRC and the Financial Conduct Authority will publish their own guidance on the ECL. If either HMRC or the FCA are your collection authority, you should follow their guidance.

Further information

You can email queries to the Economic Crime Levy Team on economiccrimelevy@gamblingcommission.gov.uk .

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How the Economic Crime Levy fee is calculated Next section
What happens if the Economic Crime Levy is not paid
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