Gambling Policy Commission opens independent review into UK Gambling Act 2005
An independent panel led by academic economists is examining whether Great Britain requires entirely new legislation to replace its existing regulatory framework.
- The Gambling Policy Commission has commenced an independent review into whether the UK requires a new Gambling Act.
- Headed by University of Cambridge economist Professor Jagjit Chadha, the commission will collect evidence until February 2027 before publishing its conclusions in 2028.
- The inquiry comes as government figures place the sector's annual economic contribution at £5 billion in gross value added and 75,000 jobs.
A newly established independent body has launched an extensive examination of British betting and gaming legislation to determine whether the Gambling Act 2005 must be replaced by an entirely new legislative framework.
The organisation, named the Gambling Policy Commission (GPC), has initiated an inquiry to assess if statutory provisions established two decades ago remain suitable for modern regulation. Under the Gambling Act 2005, lawmakers created the Gambling Commission, defined the nation's core licensing objectives, and constructed the formal framework governing commercial operators across Great Britain.
Academic leadership and inquiry timeline
The commission is chaired by Professor Jagjit Chadha, an economist based at the University of Cambridge. Working alongside Chadha on the body's senior panel is Professor James Reade, an academic from the University of Reading, who has been appointed to serve as the chief economist for the Gambling Policy Commission.
The panel has formally initiated its proceedings by seeking submissions from interested parties. According to the timetable set by the independent panel, the Gambling Policy Commission's call for evidence will run until 12 February 2027. Following the closure of the evidence-gathering phase, the panel plans to analyse the findings and publish its final report in 2028.
Legislative background and economic metrics
The independent review follows previous regulatory assessment by ministers, notably the publication of the UK Government's Gambling White Paper in 2023, which set out proposals and outlines for wider sector reforms across the country.
The work of the commission begins against a backdrop of broader fiscal and economic measurements compiled by central departments regarding the gambling industry. Figures from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport calculated that commercial gambling generated £5 billion in UK gross value added during 2024. Departmental assessments further indicated that the industry supported approximately 75,000 domestic jobs across the economy in 2025.
Despite contributing billions of pounds to output, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport confirmed that gambling's overall contribution to national gross value added represents the lowest proportion among all individual sectors overseen by the ministry.
Tax receipts and regulatory challenges
In addition to broader output assessments, official taxation data highlights substantial revenue flows to the Exchequer from the sector. HM Revenue & Customs recorded receipts totalling £3.9 billion in combined betting and gaming duties throughout the 2025/26 financial year. Furthermore, the fiscal landscape for operators shifted following decisions taken in the UK government's Autumn Budget, where ministers implemented a 5% increase to Machine Games Duty, raising the headline rate to 25%.
Beyond taxation, the regulatory system continues to monitor compliance and illicit wagering activity across Great Britain. Research conducted by the Gambling Commission examined consumer engagement with unauthorised operators through a survey drawing on a sample of 14,257 online participants, including 3,569 individuals who gamble online.
The survey discovered that 2.5% of adults in Great Britain who had participated in online gambling over the preceding 12 months admitted to using an unlicensed, illegal gambling website in the four weeks prior to completing the research.
Other prominent figures connected with academic and regulatory spheres include Will Hutton, who holds the position of president of the Academy of Social Sciences, and Ismail Vali, the president of Gambling Compliance International, as sector stakeholders prepare for the commission's long-term evaluation.
