Gambling Commission Fines 2026: Who Paid, How Much, Why

The largest single penalty was served on the William Hill Group, where three companies agreed to pay a total of £19.2 million in March 2023. Of this amount, £12.5 million was paid by the online business WHG (International), and £3.0 million and £3.7 million, respectively, by William Hill's betting shop business and Mr Green.

The largest single company penalty was served on Ladbrokes and Coral, and Foxy Bingo's parent company in August 2022 for £14 million.

Gambling related harm includes a casino customer losing £1.1 million over a period of 3 years. Checks were also not undertaken in a 24 hour period during which a new customer lost £5,000 at a different online casino.

These money-laundering failures are a result of insufficient source of funds checks. For instance, some casinos allowed customers to deposit large sums without checking the source of the funds. Others, as source of funds checks, accepted payslips in lieu of bank statements.

Other failures include emailing a gaming offer to more than 40,000 customers who were on a self-exclusion list, and placing a betting company’s logo on a children’s color-and-dot-to-dot activity sheet on a football club’s website. Some betting companies have been penalized for using unfair terms in their contracts with customers.

Repeat offending by a license holder, or failure to heed the consequences of a previous action, warrants a stronger response from the Commission. For example, the £7.8 million fine imposed on 888 in 2017 for mishandling vulnerable customers provided little incentive to modify its practices. Other license holders, including some on our list of casinos with no fines from the Commission, have had no sanctions imposed on them.

The totals swing with a few very large cases. 2022 and 2023 were driven by Entain, William Hill and 888. 2025 had the most actions but smaller amounts, apart from the £10 million fine on Platinum Gaming, which runs Unibet.

The Commission issues a fine. The register states that the Commission and the operator agree on a settlement, called a “payment in lieu of a financial penalty.” The money is used for charitable purposes. The Commission publishes a press release and the operator pays the costs incurred by the Commission.

The most severe outcome is the revocation of the licence. TGP Europe was instructed by the Commission in 2025 to improve and pay a £3.3 million charge, and chose to close its UK business by opting to forfeit its licence.

None of the outcomes resolve player disputes and the Commission does not reimburse customers. If you have funds owed by a casino, the recommendation is to utilize the casino’s internal complaint process and/or use a third-party ADR service, as detailed in our casino complaints guide.

The Commission’s regulatory action register shows 137 actions, running from October 2, 2023 to September 15, 2026. The register includes fines for small businesses, such as lottery clubs and societies, for failing to submit regulatory returns. The fines range from about £150 to several thousand pounds. A couple of the actions on the register are against small arcades for failing to ensure gambling was not occurring in a manner that was less safe.

Of the 137 actions, 37 are against individuals. The Commission can take action against individuals, such as warning or suspending a person’s license. This is of particular importance when determining a casino’s suitability, as a company may have a good reputation, but the individuals who ran the company may have been warned. This was the case with the individuals who ran kwiff’s licence holder in 2024.

Detailed public statements stay on the Commission's website for only three years. For older cases, such as MrQ's 2023 settlement, the news release is the part that remains online.