New UK licensing regime coming in early

The British political, legislative and administration community is moving with remarkable swiftness in putting in place the new online gambling point-of-consumption secondary licensing and taxation laws, confirming this week that the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 will come into force ahead of timetable on October 1.

That means that online gambling operators wishing to access UK punters need to start getting their ducks in a row in terms of licence applications through the UK Gambling Commission by September 16 this year.

Applications can be submitted online via the Gambling Commission website.

If a licence has not been issued by October 1st, the government has made provision for “continuation licenses” to be obtained which will cover operators until their licenses come through.

Progress continues despite the threats of the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association to call for a judicial review on the lawfulness of the British law changes.

The Association’s position has been weakened by the lack of support for its move from major gambling groups like William Hill, Ladbrokes and Bet365, who whilst not enamoured with the new regime have announced that they do not favour the course taken by the GBGA.