UK Gambling Commission: £14m in legal costs
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15 Jan 2026 •
Reading time: 3 minutes 2024-25 was a financially tumultuous year for the UK Gambling Commission. Its overall expenditure rose by almost half, an unprecedented increase largely attributed to legal costs associated with litigation around the fourth National Lottery licence.
A spectacular jump in the regulator’s expenditure
For the financial period from 1ᵉʳ April 2024 to 31 March 2025, the UKGC has published annual accounts revealing a radical increase in its operational costs. These totalled £60.3 million, compared with £40.4 million the previous year, an increase of 49%.
This increase is not simply an isolated figure, but reflects a business undergoing rapid change and under pressure, notably due to extraordinary expenses linked to a major legal dispute over the competition to award the fourth national lottery licence. Legal costs rose to £14.2 million, compared with just £353,000 the previous year.
Of this sum, 13.4 million was spent defending the regulator against claims brought by The New Lottery Company, an unsuccessful bidder in the lottery licensing process. The company is challenging the conduct and outcome of the competition in the UK courts, claiming that it was cheated and never had a real chance of winning the contract. A trial, which began in October 2025, is still under way.
Finances under pressure but reserves maintained
Despite this explosion in expenditure, the Commission managed to close the financial year with reserves of £10.9 million, down from £13.6 million a year earlier.
Revenue from gaming regulation fees rose slightly from £26.2 million to £27.9 million, but this was not enough to offset the increase in costs. At the same time, funds received from National Lottery operations almost doubled to £29.1 million, compared with £14.4 million the previous year.
Staff growth and associated costs
In addition to legal costs, staff costs have also risen due to an increase in the Commission’s workforce. At the end of March 2025, the organisation had 416 employees, compared with 373 the previous year, a growth of more than 11%.
In practice, this growth in human resources has resulted in salary expenditure of £27.8 million, compared with £24 million last year. These additional resources were mobilised to strengthen supervision, the application of rules and the regulator’s ability to intervene.
Compliance activities and sanctions
The year 2024-25 was not limited to financial issues. The Commission’s operational activity increased significantly, with a proliferation of compliance checks. The teams carried out more than 9,700 actions, more than double the number of checks carried out the previous year.
At the same time, the body initiated 24 enforcement actions, resulting in £4.2 million in fines and settlements with operators. Although this amount is lower than the previous year, the regulator sees the decline as a sign of an overall improvement in operators’ compliance with the rules. In the fight against illegal gambling, the Commission stepped up its efforts. It issued 516 cease-and-desist orders to unauthorised operators and succeeded in having 95,705 illegal web addresses removed following reports to search engines.