Who Holds a Gambling Commission Operating Licence
Under the Gambling Act 2005, any business that provides facilities for gambling in Great Britain, or manufactures, supplies, installs or adapts gambling software or gaming machines, needs an operating licence from the Gambling Commission. The Commission publishes its register of licensed businesses together with each licence's type, activities and status. On the date checked, about 2,100 business accounts held at least one active licence.
Remote, non-remote and ancillary remote
- Remote licences cover gambling offered online, by phone or by other remote communication, together with remote gambling software and machine supply.
- Non-remote licences cover land-based premises such as betting shops, casinos, bingo halls and adult gaming centres. Each venue also needs a premises licence from its local authority.
- Ancillary remote licences let a land-based operator take occasional remote bets or play, for example a bingo club or a society lottery accepting payments online.
Licensed activities on the register
| Activity | Who holds it |
|---|---|
| Society lottery | Charities and hospice, air-ambulance and sports-club lotteries, the largest single group on the register |
| General betting (standard, limited, real or virtual event) | Bookmakers, online sportsbooks, on-course bookmakers |
| Casino | Land-based casinos and online casino operators |
| Bingo | Bingo hall operators and online bingo brands |
| Gaming machine general (adult gaming centre, family entertainment centre) | Arcade and amusement operators |
| Gaming machine technical (full or supplier) | Machine manufacturers and suppliers |
| Gambling software | Game studios, platform and RNG providers |
Why B2B suppliers use the register
A licensed operator can only use gambling software from a business that itself holds a Commission software licence, so studios and platforms on the register are the approved supply chain. For payments, KYC and affordability-check providers, remote casino and betting licensees are the core market because of the Commission's customer-interaction, age-verification and anti-money-laundering requirements. Gaming machine and arcade operators are a separate market for cash handling, machine maintenance and venue technology.
Notes
- One business account can hold several licences and activities, and many operators trade under several brand names and domain names, which the Commission lists separately.
- The register includes surrendered, revoked and lapsed licences. Filter on active status before outreach.
- The figure of about 2,100 is an estimate of business accounts with an active licence on the date checked.