Glossary | UK Gambling Regulation Terms

A

Account Holder Corporate: The legal entity named on a UKGC operating licence. Also called the "licensee." This may differ from trading names that consumers recognise.
Activity Licence Licensing: A specific type of operating licence that authorises particular gambling activities such as betting, casino, bingo, or gaming machines.
Additional Licence Conditions Regulatory: Extra requirements attached to an operating licence beyond standard conditions. Often imposed following compliance failures to address specific risks.
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Regulatory Bodies: Regulates advertising in the UK, including gambling advertisements. Works alongside the UKGC on gambling advertising standards and can require withdrawal of non-compliant ads.
Affordability Assessment Compliance: The process of evaluating whether a customer can afford their gambling spend. Operators must conduct financial vulnerability checks when certain thresholds are met.
Age Verification Compliance: Mandatory checks to ensure customers are at least 18 years old before gambling. Must be completed before a customer can deposit or place a bet.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Consumer Protection: A free service that helps resolve complaints between consumers and gambling operators. UKGC-licensed operators must use an approved ADR provider. If you have a complaint that the operator won't resolve, you can escalate to their ADR provider at no cost.
Ancillary Remote Licensing: A licence permitting online betting or gaming that is linked to a non-remote operation, such as a betting shop offering an online account to existing customers.
Annual Fee Licensing: Yearly payment required by licensees to maintain their UKGC licence. The fee amount depends on the type of licence and gambling yield.
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance: Regulations and procedures designed to prevent gambling services being used to launder criminal proceeds. Operators must conduct customer due diligence, monitor transactions, and report suspicious activity to the National Crime Agency.

B

B2B Licence Licensing: Business-to-Business operating licence. Authorises providing gambling software, services, or content to other licensed operators rather than directly to consumers.
Betting Gambling Types: Making or accepting a bet on the outcome of a race, competition, or other event or process; the likelihood of anything occurring or not occurring; or whether anything is or is not true.
Betting Intermediary Gambling Types: A person who facilitates betting between others. Includes betting exchanges where customers bet against each other rather than against the operator.
Bingo Gambling Types: A game of chance where players mark off numbers on cards as they are called randomly. Regulated as a separate gambling activity with its own licence type.
Bonus Abuse Industry Terms: When customers exploit promotional offers in ways not intended by the operator. Often cited in disputes but operators must clearly state terms and conditions.
Bonus Terms Industry Terms: Conditions attached to promotional offers including wagering requirements, game restrictions, time limits, and maximum winnings. Must be clear and fair under LCCP requirements.

C

Casino Gambling Types: A premises or remote facility offering casino games. Includes games of chance like roulette, blackjack, and slot machines.
Cause for Concern Compliance: Indicators that a customer may be experiencing gambling harm. Operators must identify and respond to these signs under LCCP social responsibility requirements.
Children and Young Persons Consumer Protection: Individuals under 18 who are prohibited from gambling. Operators face strict requirements to prevent underage gambling through age verification and marketing restrictions.
Commission Regulatory Bodies: Short for UK Gambling Commission. The statutory body responsible for regulating gambling in Great Britain.
Companies House Regulatory Bodies: The UK government agency that registers companies and maintains the public register of company information. Where Saferwager sources corporate data about gambling operators.
Company Status Corporate: The current state of a company at Companies House. "Active" means operating normally. "Dissolved" means the company no longer legally exists. "In liquidation" means the company is being wound up.
Compliance Assessment Regulatory: Formal review conducted by the UKGC to evaluate whether an operator is meeting licence conditions and regulatory requirements.
Conditions Licensing: Requirements attached to gambling licences that operators must follow. Includes general conditions applying to all licences and specific conditions for individual licensees.
Confidentiality Regulatory: Obligation on the UKGC to protect certain commercial and personal information. Limits what enforcement details can be published.
Consumer Funds Protection Consumer Protection: Requirements for operators to protect customer money. Operators must segregate customer funds and disclose the level of protection provided.
Cooling-Off Period Consumer Protection: A waiting period before certain gambling transactions can be completed or reversed. Used in self-exclusion and account closure procedures to prevent impulsive decisions.
Criminal Record Check Licensing: Background check required for Personal Management Licence applicants and operators. The UKGC assesses whether criminal history affects suitability to hold a licence.
Customer Interaction Compliance: Mandatory contact with customers showing signs of gambling harm. Operators must identify, interact with, and where appropriate, take action to protect vulnerable customers.

D

Deposit Limit Consumer Protection: A cap on how much a customer can deposit within a set period. Operators must offer this as a responsible gambling tool.
Designated Qualifying Position Licensing: Specific roles within licensed gambling companies that require a Personal Management Licence. Includes positions with responsibility for compliance, strategy, or financial management.
Director Corporate: An individual appointed to the board of a company. Directors of gambling companies may need a Personal Management Licence depending on their responsibilities.
Dispute Consumer Protection: A disagreement between a customer and operator about gambling transactions, payouts, or account treatment. Can be escalated to ADR if unresolved.
Due Diligence Compliance: Investigation and verification procedures to assess risk. Includes both customer due diligence (KYC) and business partner due diligence.

E

eCOGRA ADR Providers: eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance. An international testing agency and ADR provider. Handles disputes for online casinos and also audits game fairness. ecogra.org
Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) Compliance: Additional verification measures required for high-risk customers. Goes beyond standard KYC checks for customers who trigger risk indicators.
Enforcement Action Regulatory: Regulatory measures taken by the UKGC against licensees who breach conditions. Includes warnings, financial penalties, licence suspension, and revocation.
Event Gambling Types: An occurrence on which bets can be placed. Can include sports matches, races, elections, or any other outcome covered by a betting licence.
Exempt Gaming Licensing: Low-stakes gambling that doesn't require a licence. Includes small-scale gaming in pubs and clubs within defined limits.

F

Fair and Open Regulatory: A UKGC licensing objective requiring gambling to be conducted fairly and with transparent rules that customers can understand.
Financial Assessment Licensing: Evaluation of an applicant's financial standing as part of licence assessment. The UKGC must be satisfied the applicant can meet financial commitments.
Financial Penalty Regulatory: A monetary sanction imposed by the UKGC for regulatory breaches. Distinguished from regulatory settlement payments, which are agreed rather than imposed.
Fixed Odds Betting Terminal (FOBT) Gambling Types: Electronic gaming machines found in betting shops. Maximum stake was reduced to £2 in 2019 from £100 following concerns about gambling harm.
Freedom of Information (FOI) Regulatory: Legal right to access information held by public bodies including the UKGC. Subject to certain exemptions for commercial confidentiality and ongoing investigations.
Fundamental Standards Compliance: Core requirements in the LCCP that all licensees must meet. Cover areas like business integrity, identification of individual customers, and player protection.

G

Gambling Act 2005 Regulatory: The primary legislation governing gambling in Great Britain. Established the UKGC and set out licensing objectives: preventing crime, ensuring fairness, and protecting children and vulnerable people.
Gambling Harm Consumer Protection: Any negative consequence from gambling, including financial difficulties, mental health problems, relationship breakdown, and other impacts on wellbeing.
Gambling Yield Industry Terms: The amount retained by an operator from gambling. Calculated as stakes/deposits minus winnings paid to customers. Used to determine licence fee bands.
GAMSTOP Consumer Protection: The national self-exclusion scheme for online gambling. When someone registers, all UKGC-licensed online operators must prevent them from gambling for their chosen period (6 months, 1 year, or 5 years).
Gaming Gambling Types: Playing a game of chance for a prize. Includes casino games like roulette and blackjack, as well as gaming machines and bingo.
Gaming Machine Gambling Types: Any machine designed or adapted for use by individuals to gamble. Categories range from A (unlimited stakes/prizes in casinos) to D (low stakes in family entertainment centres).
Great Britain Regulatory: England, Scotland, and Wales. The UKGC's jurisdiction. Northern Ireland has separate gambling regulation.
Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) Industry Terms: Total stakes or deposits received minus winnings paid out. The standard measure of gambling business size used for fee calculations and industry statistics.

H

High-Value Customer Compliance: Customers who gamble large amounts. Subject to enhanced due diligence and affordability checks under AML and social responsibility requirements.
Holding Company Corporate: A parent company that owns or controls other businesses. May need to be disclosed to the UKGC as part of ownership structure information.

I

Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) ADR Providers: The most widely used ADR provider for UK gambling. An independent body that adjudicates disputes between consumers and bookmakers or gaming companies. Decisions are binding on the operator but not the consumer. ibas-uk.com
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) Regulatory Bodies: The UK's data protection regulator. Oversees how gambling operators handle customer personal data. Separate from the UKGC but both may investigate data-related issues.
In-Play Betting Gambling Types: Betting on events as they happen, also called live betting. Subject to specific rules around advertising and integrity.
Integrity Regulatory: The principle that gambling should be honest and free from criminal influence or match-fixing. One of the UKGC's core licensing objectives.

K

Key Event Compliance: A change in circumstances that licensees must report to the UKGC. Includes changes to ownership, key personnel, business activities, or regulatory action by other authorities.
Know Your Customer (KYC) Compliance: Verification procedures to confirm a customer's identity, age, and source of funds. Required under both gambling regulations and anti-money laundering law.

L

Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) Regulatory: The comprehensive rulebook that all UKGC licensees must follow. Contains mandatory conditions attached to licences and codes of practice covering social responsibility and fair gambling.
Licence Review Regulatory: A formal process where the UKGC examines whether a licensee remains suitable to hold a licence. Can result in licence revocation, suspension, additional conditions, or no action.
Licence Revocation Regulatory: Permanent cancellation of a licence. The most serious regulatory outcome, typically reserved for severe or persistent compliance failures.
Licence Suspension Regulatory: Temporary withdrawal of a licence, preventing the operator from conducting licensed activities. Often imposed while a licence review is ongoing.
Licensee Licensing: Any person or company holding a UKGC licence. Includes operating licence holders and personal licence holders.
Licensing Objectives Regulatory: The three goals set out in the Gambling Act 2005: preventing gambling being a source of crime; ensuring gambling is fair and open; protecting children and vulnerable people from harm.
Live Dealer Gambling Types: Online casino games with real human dealers streamed via video. Combines online convenience with traditional casino atmosphere.
Lottery Gambling Types: A gambling arrangement involving the allocation of prizes by chance among participants who have paid for tickets. Regulated separately from other gambling; the National Lottery has its own regulator.

M

Machine Category Gambling Types: Classification of gaming machines from A (highest stakes) to D (lowest). Determines maximum stake, prize, and where machines can be sited.
Marketing Compliance: Promotion of gambling services. Subject to strict rules including prohibition of targeting children, requirements for responsible gambling messages, and restrictions on inducements.
Money Laundering Compliance: Converting criminally obtained money into apparently legitimate funds. Gambling operators must have systems to detect and prevent money laundering.
Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) Compliance: A designated individual responsible for receiving and assessing suspicious activity reports within a gambling business. A regulated position requiring appropriate authority.

N

National Crime Agency (NCA) Regulatory Bodies: UK law enforcement agency that receives Suspicious Activity Reports from gambling operators. Works with the UKGC on financial crime matters.
National Lottery Gambling Types: The UK's state-licensed lottery, regulated separately from other gambling. Currently operated by Allwyn under licence from the Gambling Commission.
Net Gambling Yield Industry Terms: Gambling yield minus payments to third parties such as game providers. Different from gross gambling yield used for some calculations.
Non-Remote Licence Licensing: An operating licence for gambling services provided at physical premises, such as betting shops, casinos, or bingo halls.

O

Occasional Use Notice (OUN) Licensing: A notice allowing betting on a track for up to 8 days per year without a premises licence. Used for racecourses and other sporting venues.
Odds Industry Terms: The ratio of the probability of an event occurring to the probability of it not occurring. Determines potential winnings from a bet.
Operating Licence Licensing: A licence issued by the UKGC that permits a company to provide gambling facilities to consumers in Great Britain. Required for casinos, betting shops, bingo halls, and online gambling sites.
Operator Industry Terms: A company or person that holds an operating licence and provides gambling facilities. Can operate remotely (online) or non-remotely (physical premises).

P

Peer-to-Peer Gaming Gambling Types: Gaming where customers play against each other rather than against the house. Includes poker and betting exchanges.
Personal Management Licence (PML) Licensing: A licence held by individuals who occupy qualifying positions within licensed gambling businesses. Required for roles that influence key business decisions or have responsibility for regulatory compliance.
Person with Significant Control (PSC) Corporate: An individual or entity that holds significant influence or control over a UK company. Must be declared on the Companies House register. Relevant for understanding who ultimately controls gambling operators.
Point of Consumption Regulatory: Regulatory approach where gambling is taxed and regulated based on where the customer is located, not where the operator is based. UK online gambling tax applies to customers in Great Britain.
POGG (Player Arbitration) ADR Providers: An ADR provider that specialises in online casino disputes. Known for detailed case handling and public reporting of outcomes. thepogg.com
Poker Gambling Types: A card game combining skill and chance. Can be played in casinos, card rooms, or online. Peer-to-peer poker is licensed separately from casino gaming.
Premises Licence Licensing: Authorisation required for a physical location to be used for gambling. Issued by local authorities, not the UKGC, based on UKGC licence holder applications.
Primary Gambling Activity Licensing: The main type of gambling a premises is licensed for. Determines which ancillary activities and gaming machines are permitted.
Prize Industry Terms: Money or other winnings from gambling. Prize limits apply to certain categories of gaming machines and some exempt gambling.
Problem Gambling Consumer Protection: Gambling behaviour that disrupts personal, family, or vocational pursuits. Operators must train staff to identify and respond to signs of problem gambling.
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) Compliance: Legislation governing money laundering offences. Creates obligations for gambling operators to report suspicious activity and not deal with criminal property.
Public Statement Regulatory: Official UKGC announcement about regulatory action or guidance. May concern specific licensees or general compliance expectations.

R

Random Number Generator (RNG) Industry Terms: Software that produces unpredictable outcomes for online gambling games. Must be independently tested to ensure fairness.
Reality Check Consumer Protection: A notification shown to online gambling customers at set intervals displaying time spent and money gambled. A required responsible gambling feature.
Reconciliation Compliance: Process of verifying that gambling records, customer balances, and financial transactions align. Part of good governance and AML compliance.
Regulatory Return Compliance: Periodic data submission required from licensees to the UKGC. Includes financial information, customer complaints data, and self-exclusion statistics.
Regulatory Settlement Regulatory: An agreement between the UKGC and a licensee to resolve compliance failures. Often includes a financial payment (called a "regulatory settlement payment") and specific remedial actions. Not technically a "fine" but functionally similar.
Remote Gambling Gambling Types: Gambling conducted over the internet, phone, or other electronic means where participants are not physically present together. Includes online casinos, betting sites, and apps.
Remote Licence Licensing: An operating licence for gambling services provided remotely, typically online or via mobile apps. Remote casino, remote betting, and remote bingo are common sub-types.
Resolver ADR Providers: A general complaints platform that includes gambling disputes. Helps consumers manage complaints and escalate to ADR if needed. resolver.co.uk
Responsible Gambling Consumer Protection: Practices and tools designed to minimise gambling harm. Includes deposit limits, time limits, self-exclusion, and reality checks.
Return to Player (RTP) Industry Terms: The percentage of wagered money a game pays back to players over time. A game with 96% RTP returns £96 for every £100 wagered on average.
Risk Assessment Compliance: Evaluation of potential risks from gambling operations. Required for both AML compliance and social responsibility purposes.

S

Section 116 Review Regulatory: A licence review initiated under Section 116 of the Gambling Act. Can be triggered by information suggesting the licensee is unsuitable to continue operating.
Self-Exclusion Consumer Protection: A voluntary ban where customers request to be blocked from gambling. Operators must offer individual self-exclusion and participate in multi-operator schemes like GAMSTOP.
SIC Code Corporate: Standard Industrial Classification code. A four-digit number indicating a company's business activity. Gambling companies typically use codes starting with 92 (gambling and betting activities).
Single Customer View Compliance: Requirement for operators to consolidate customer data across brands they operate. Ensures effective monitoring of gambling behaviour and spending.
Slot Machine Gambling Types: A gaming machine that awards prizes based on matching symbols. Online slots are the most popular form of remote gambling in the UK.
Social Responsibility Compliance: The UKGC's framework requiring operators to minimise gambling harm. Includes customer interaction obligations, self-exclusion schemes, and responsible advertising requirements.
Source of Funds (SOF) Compliance: Verification of where a customer's money comes from. Required for AML compliance, especially for high-value customers.
Source of Wealth (SOW) Compliance: Verification of how a customer accumulated their overall wealth. Goes beyond source of funds to understand total financial position.
Stake Industry Terms: The amount of money risked on a bet or game. Subject to limits depending on customer risk profile and type of gambling.
Suitability Assessment Licensing: UKGC evaluation of whether an applicant is suitable to hold a licence. Considers integrity, competence, and financial position.
Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Compliance: Report submitted to the National Crime Agency when an operator suspects money laundering. Gambling operators must file SARs without alerting the customer.

T

Terms and Conditions Consumer Protection: The contractual rules governing the relationship between operator and customer. Must be fair, clear, and easily accessible under LCCP requirements.
Terrorist Financing Compliance: Providing money for terrorist activities. Gambling operators must monitor for both money laundering and terrorist financing under AML regulations.
Third Party Testing Industry Terms: Independent verification of gambling software and games. Required to ensure random number generators and game outcomes are fair.
Time Limit Consumer Protection: A responsible gambling tool allowing customers to limit their gambling session duration. Required to be offered by online operators.
Trading Name Corporate: A brand name under which a licensed operator trades. One account holder may operate multiple brands under a single licence.
Transaction Monitoring Compliance: Ongoing review of customer gambling activity to detect unusual patterns that may indicate money laundering or problem gambling.
Triggers Compliance: Defined events or thresholds that require operator action. Includes spending limits that prompt affordability checks and behaviours indicating potential harm.

U

UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) Regulatory Bodies: The independent regulator for gambling in Great Britain. Issues licences, sets licence conditions, investigates compliance failures, and takes enforcement action. Does not regulate the National Lottery (separate regulator).
Underage Gambling Consumer Protection: Gambling by persons under 18, which is prohibited. Operators face strict verification requirements and severe penalties for failures.
Unfair Terms Consumer Protection: Contract conditions that create significant imbalance between operator and customer. The UKGC and Competition and Markets Authority can take action against unfair terms.

V

VIP Customer Industry Terms: High-value customers who receive enhanced benefits. Subject to strict due diligence requirements following UKGC concerns about inadequate protections.
Virtual Event Gambling Types: Computer-generated events used for betting, such as virtual horse racing. The outcomes are determined by random number generators.
Void Bet Industry Terms: A bet that is cancelled with stakes returned. Can occur due to event cancellation, rule breaches, or errors.
Voluntary Undertaking Regulatory: A commitment made by a licensee to the UKGC to take specific actions. Often part of regulatory settlements or licence reviews.
Vulnerable Person Consumer Protection: Someone susceptible to gambling harm due to personal circumstances. May include those with mental health conditions, financial stress, or problem gambling history. Operators must identify and protect vulnerable customers.

W

Wagering Requirement Industry Terms: The number of times a bonus must be bet before winnings can be withdrawn. For example, a 30x wagering requirement on a £10 bonus means betting £300 before withdrawal.
Warning Regulatory: A formal notice from the UKGC that identifies compliance failures but stops short of financial penalty or licence action. Remains on the operator's record.
White Label Industry Terms: A gambling platform operated by one company under another's brand. The white label provider holds the licence and takes regulatory responsibility.
Withdrawal Industry Terms: Removing funds from a gambling account. Operators must process legitimate withdrawals promptly and not create unreasonable barriers.

Y

Yield Industry Terms: See Gambling Yield. The amount retained by the operator from gambling activity.