UKGC publishes ‘joint consultation’ on proposed licence fee changes

Partnering with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has published its initial ‘joint consultation’ on proposed changes to operator fees with regards to UK gambling licences. The commission expects to implement these changes from April 2017.

The proposals of the UKGC consultation are as follows:

• Take account of the significant changes to our costs and income following the implementation of the Gambling (Licensing & Advertising) Act 2014
• Reflect on the efficiencies achieved in industry expenditure, and would reduce the overall fee burden across the industry by an estimated 10%
• Ensure that  costs continue to be recovered on a proportionate basis from different types and sizes of operator
• Address further issues identified in the current fees structure. It also proposes some important modifications to the fees structure, including;
• Outline rhe replacement of ‘number of premises’ with gross gambling yield (GGY) as the basis for fee categories across a number of licences
• Creating sub-divisions of various fee categories into smaller categories to ensure that industry costs are recovered through fees on a fairer basis
• Executing the re-alignment of market cost recovery more proportionately in relation to GGY.

The UKGC expects the proposals to mean fee reductions for around 1,900 operators while fees would be held at their current levels for around 1,000 operators, and fewer than 100 would be subject to an increase in fees.

In developing its advice for government on changes to fees, the UKGC have taken account of the responses they received from stakeholders during our fees discussion exercise in 2015 and subject to the outcome of the consultation, it would expect changes to fees to be put in place in April 2017.

The UKGC will hold an  advisory workshop for trade associations in Birmingham in July discussing the matter