An explanatory sheet has been released by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) on the matters related with the proposals for gambling commission fees from April 2017. In 2016, there were some changes proposed in the annual fee structure, which were expected to have a negative impact on a number of online gambling operators.

The latter are expected to be affected by larger costs compared with previous years, but there are also many companies who are expected to face a massive reduction in their costs thanks to the new annual fee structure.

The UK gambling regulatory authority published a consultation response concerning the the new commission fees proposals. A joint consultation between the UK Gambling Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) was held in the period from July 8th to September 9th, 2016. The consultation was associated exactly with the changes that are to be implemented to the gambling fee structure and are expected to take effect in April this year.

The UKGC revealed that a total of 36 responses to the consultation have been received from licensed gambling operators, trade associations and members of the public.

The UK Gambling Commission explained that it expected the fees of around 1,900 gambling operators to be reduced due to the changes that are to be implemented in April 2017. The British gambling regulator also said that about 1,000 operators will see no or very little change in the fee levels after the changes implementation, while only about 75 companies will be subjected to fees increase. According to the Commission, the fee increases will result in recovering the regulator's costs more proportionately and in line with the activities of the operators in question.

The UK gambling operator shared that the cost profile of the UKGC had changed since 2007 when the fees had first been set. It said that there had been a reduction in the fixed, minimum costs of relatively small online gambling companies' regulation. In comparison, the thematic costs base's growth had continued. So, the UK Gambling Commission explained that the commission fees imposed to large remote betting operators were considered as too small and insufficient to recover the thematic costs proportionately, especially considering the relative volumes of gambling generated by them.

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