Open consultation

Consultation questions

Published 27 January 2026

You are invited to comment freely on any aspect of this consultation document. However, you may find it useful to refer to the checklist of questions below, which cover the main points on which the department would particularly welcome views.

Where possible, please:

• be specific in your responses
• explain the reasons behind your agreement or disagreement with a proposal
• suggest what alternative you would prefer in place of any proposals you may disagree with.

Pre-consultation demographic questions

• Are you responding on behalf of an organisation or as an individual?

  • Individual
  • Organisation
  • Other (please specify)

If responding as an individual:

• Which of the following best describes your interest in gambling policy (select up to two options)?

  • Gambling industry professional
  • Gambling researcher/academic
  • Gambling treatment provider
  • Personally harmed by gambling
  • Affected negatively by another person’s gambling
  • Recreational gambler
  • Government/regulatory professional
  • Other
  • Prefer not to say

• Is any of the information you have provided confidential, commercially sensitive or otherwise unsuitable for publication (including in anonymised)? If so, please indicate what.

If responding as an organisation:

• What is the name of your organisation?

• Is the organisation headquartered in Great Britain?

  • Yes
  • No
  • Don’t know

• Which of the following best represents your organisation’s sector?

  • Remote gambling industry
  • Land-based gambling industry
  • Both remote and land-based gambling industry
  • Gambling-related sector (e.g. advertising, sport, or broadcasting)
  • Government/regulator
  • Lived experience peer support charity
  • Academic/research
  • Treatment provision
  • Other
  • Don’t know

• How many employees does the organisation you are responding on behalf of have globally?

  • 1 to 9
  • 10 to 19
  • 20 to 49
  • 50 to 99
  • 100 to 250
  • 250 to 499 employees
  • 500+ employees
  • Don’t know

• Are you happy for government to attribute responses to your organisation in a published response to this consultation?

  • Yes
  • No

• Is any of the information you have provided confidential, commercially sensitive or otherwise unsuitable for publication (including in anonymised)? If so, please indicate what.

Main consultation questions

Consultation question 1: Which of the three options outlined do you believe is most appropriate for future Gambling Commission fee levels? Please explain your answer.

Consultation question 2: Do you agree that first annual, application and maintenance fees should be increased in line with the proposals set out here, in order to enable the Commission to meet the challenges identified? Please explain your answer.

Consultation question 3: Do you have any views on the revised approach to fees setting outlined in this document?

Consultation question 4: Are there any other factors that should be considered relating to the proposed changes to operator licence fees and their possible impacts? Please explain your answer.

How to respond

The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 30 March 2026.

Email your response to gcfeesreview2026@dcms.gov.uk

You can also post your response to:

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport
100 Parliament Street
London
SW1A 2BQ

Privacy notice

Who is collecting my data?

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). DCMS is consulting on options for changes to gambling operating licence fees, which are paid to the Gambling Commission. For the purposes of personal data collected in the course of this consultation, DCMS is the data controller.

Purposes of this privacy notice

This notice is provided to meet the obligations as set out in Articles 13 and 14 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (“the DPA”). This notice sets out how DCMS will use your personal data as part of our legal obligations with regard to data protection.

What is personal data

Personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural living person, otherwise known as a ‘data subject’. A data subject is someone who can be recognised, directly or indirectly, by information such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or data relating to their physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity. These types of identifying information are known as ‘personal data’. Data protection law applies to the processing of personal data, including its collection, use and storage.

What personal data do we collect

The personal information we collect and process is the data provided to us directly by you in the responses to this consultation. As an individual, this includes: your gender, age bracket and region of residence. As an organisation, this includes: your organisation name and size. All questions requesting an individual’s personal information offer a ‘prefer not to say’ option.

How will we use your data

We will use your data to enable us to carry out our functions as a government department. Your data will be used to inform any decisions about changes to gambling operating licence fees.

What is the legal basis for processing my data

To process this personal data, our legal reason for collecting or processing this data is:

• Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR: to the extent it is necessary to perform a public task (to carry out a public function or exercise powers set out in law, or to perform a specific task in the public interest that is set out in law). In this case, the processing of your personal data is necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest, as the information gathered helps inform future policies; and
• Section 8(d) of the DPA: to the extent it is necessary for the effective performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

What will happen if I do not provide this data

You have the option to select ‘Prefer not to say’ in response to any of the questions that ask for your personal data.

Who will your data be shared with

Information provided in response to this consultation (not including personal information) may be shared with other government departments and arm’s length bodies, such as the Department for Health and Social Care and the Gambling Commission. The information provided may be published at an aggregated or anonymised level in the government’s consultation response, or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (primarily under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004) subject to any applicable exemptions.

Please indicate if any information you provide is commercially or otherwise sensitive.

How long will my data be held for

Your personal data will be kept for one year in line with DCMS retention policy.

Will my data be used for automated decision making, or profiling or Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is an umbrella term for a range of technologies and approaches that often attempt to mimic human thought to solve complex tasks. Things that humans have traditionally done by thinking and reasoning are increasingly being done by, or with the help of, AI.

We may use large language models (LLMs) to process free-text responses. LLMs are Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems trained on vast amounts of text data. They can understand and generate human-like text for various tasks such as answering questions, writing content, and translating languages. While very capable at processing and producing language, they operate based on pattern recognition and prediction. These models will help DCMS to understand the emerging themes and evidence from the survey results. There will be no additional data sharing considerations as a result of using these models.

Will my data be transferred outside the UK and if it is how will it be protected

Your data will not be transferred outside the UK.

What are my data protection rights

You have rights over your personal data under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. The Information Commissioner’s Office is the supervisory authority for data protection legislation, and maintains a full explanation of these rights on their website DCMS will ensure that we uphold your rights when processing your personal data.

How do I complain

The contact details for the data controller’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) are:

Data Protection Officer
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport
100 Parliament Street
London
SW1A 2BQ

Email: dpo@dcms.gov.uk

If you’re unhappy with the way we have handled your personal data and want to make a complaint, please write to the department’s Data Protection Officer using the details above.

How to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office:

If you believe that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator. You may also contact them to seek independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing.

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

View the Information Commissioner’s Office website

Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Any complaint to the Information Commissioner is without prejudice to your right to seek redress through the courts.

Changes to our privacy notice

We may make changes to this privacy policy. In that case, the ‘last updated’ date at the bottom of this page will also change. Any changes to this privacy policy will apply to you and your data immediately. If these changes affect how your personal data is processed, DCMS will take reasonable steps to let you know.

Last updated: 19 January 2026