UKGC directs regulatory settlement funds to Consolidated Fund
The change follows a UKGC consultation launched in February and closes a funding gap opened when the UK’s statutory gambling levy took effect.
Regulatory settlements from UK gambling operators used to fund research, education and treatment work, the same purpose the UK’s statutory gambling levy now funds on a compulsory basis. The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) confirmed on 22 July 2026 that settlement money will instead go to the government’s Consolidated Fund.
Why the change follows the levy
Before the Gambling Levy Regulations 2025 came into force, the UKGC put settlement funds towards research, education and treatment on a voluntary basis. The levy now does that job on a compulsory footing. Keeping the old settlement route running alongside it would have meant two systems doing the same work.
The UKGC opened the consultation in February 2026. Announcing the outcome in July, it put the reasoning simply: the Consolidated Fund route ‘avoids a dual system or any duplication of work funded by the statutory levy’.
The change is made by amending section 2.39 of the UKGC’s Statement of Principles for Determining Financial Penalties, the document that sets out how the regulator calculates and applies its fines.
What changes for operators
Where the money goes doesn’t change how big a settlement is.
Enforcement has carried on as usual. In July 2026 alone, Evolution Malta Holding Limited agreed a £4.75 million settlement with the UKGC over failures that let its games reach British consumers through six unlicensed websites.
Under the old system, a payment like that might have gone to treatment or research bodies. Now it goes to the Consolidated Fund, the same route the Commission had already started using for other settlements, including its £900,000 settlement with Petfre (Betfred) earlier in July.
The funding question this leaves open
There’s a trade-off here. Taking settlement money out of the treatment funding pool only makes sense if the levy on its own is enough, and it’s now the only dedicated funding route left for research, education and treatment.
Whether it covers the gap won’t be clear until levy receipts build up over time. Settlement amounts are unpredictable, too, jumping around from year to year depending on how many cases the Commission brings and how serious they are.
What to watch
The updated Statement of Principles, including the amended section 2.39, now governs how future settlements are handled.
Operators and treatment-sector stakeholders should keep an eye on whether total levy receipts, once published, actually cover what settlement money used to put into research and treatment.
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