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Information and guidance about annual fees for operating licence holders.
Published: 17 May 2021
Last updated: 28 March 2023
This version was printed or saved on: 27 April 2024
Online version: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-businesses/guide/annual-fees
Overview: > It is a requirement of the Gambling Act 2005 (opens in a new tab) for operators to pay their annual fee in full before the anniversary date of their operating licence. This is the date your licence was first issued and is stated on the operating licence.
If you hold an operating licence, you must pay an annual fee to keep it.
We will issue an invoice to you 6 weeks before the fee is payable. The invoice is also available in eServices where it can also be paid by credit or debit card. Find out more about paying fees.
If you have not already registered for eServices, email us: licensing@gamblingcommission.gov.uk
Licence application or annual fees are not refundable in any circumstance. We will only issue refunds if you have overpaid for some reason.
When you apply for, or vary your operating licence, we tell you what your application and annual fees are. You can find invoices for annual fees paid or due in eServices.
You can also use our fees calculator to find out what the current annual fees are for the licence activities you hold.
Operators wishing to vary licenses, for example, to remove a licensed activity no longer provided or to increase and/or decrease the fee category of a licensed activity to accommodate updated Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) projections, must apply as soon as possible via eServices.
The variation application must be granted before the anniversary date of the issue of the licence for it to impact the annual fee payable. Submission of an application does not guarantee that the annual fee will be amended.
When making an application, operators must provide evidence they are no longer providing the licensed activity to customers and/or that they should be in a different fee category. If operators do not provide this evidence, we may refuse the application and the application fee will not be refunded.
You should make the payment online, as this is our preferred payment method. Paying online means we can easily identify which licensee or applicant the payment is for.
If you cannot pay online we will accept payment by bank transfer. However, the annual fee invoice number (starting with INV followed by numbers) must be included in the payment details, or we will not be able to apply the payment.
Our bank details are:
It is a requirement of the Gambling Act 2005 for operators to pay their annual fee in full before the anniversary date of their operating licence. This is the date your licence was first issued and is stated on the operating licence. If you cannot pay then we must revoke your licence.
If your licence has been revoked because of non-payment of your annual fee, but you wish to continue operating, you will need to re-apply. Until a new licence is issued, you should not conduct any activities that your licence permits.
If you do surrender your operating licence, you will not be able to trade again until you have applied for and been granted a new operating licence. You would then have to pay the application fee and, if the licence is granted, a first annual fee 30 days after the issue date of the new licence.
You cannot pay fees due to the Commission in instalments.
It is a requirement of the Gambling Act 2005 for operators to pay their annual fee in full before the anniversary date stated on their operating licence. The fact that you may not have traded does not affect this legal requirement. If you wish to retain your operating licence, you must pay the annual fee by the due date.
If you surrender your licence the fee will not be payable.
If you want to give up or surrender your operating licence in full or partially, you can do this in the following ways.
0121 230 6666 (option 2).
From outside the UK, call us on +44 121 230 6666 (option 2).
licensing@gamblingcommission.gov.uk
You can partially surrender your licences in eServices.
If you do surrender your operating licence, you will not be able to trade again until you have applied for and been granted a new operating licence. You would then have to pay the application fee and, if the licence is granted, a first annual fee 30 days after the issue date of the new licence.