The UK Gambling Commission has seen a big rise in its spending between 2024 to 2025, mostly because of a legal battle over the fourth National Lottery licence. Its latest annual report shows operating costs jumped 49 percent, from £40.4 million last year to £60.3 million.

The main reason for the increase was legal fees. The Commission spent £14.2 million on legal work, up from just £353,000 the year before. Of this, £13.4 million went to defend court claims from The New Lottery Company, owned by businessman Richard Desmond. The company says it was misled into spending millions on a licence bid it never really had a chance of winning.

Legal Fight Pushes Spending Higher

Even with the high legal bills, the Gambling Commission still reported a surplus of £10.9 million in reserves, although this was lower than the £13.6 million recorded in 2023–24. Income from gambling regulation fees rose slightly to £27.9 million, while grant-in-aid funding for National Lottery work jumped to £29.1 million from £14.4 million.

The regulator is currently defending two court cases from The New Lottery Company. These cases focus on how the fourth licence bids were judged and changes made to the licence agreement. The trial began in October 2025.

In the report’s foreword, chief executive Andrew Rhodes remained positive, saying, “The substantial work done in 2024-25 gives the Commission a great opportunity to make further steps forward in our work to make gambling safer, fairer and crime free.” He added, “This is an opportunity everyone at the Commission is fully dedicated to making the most of in the year ahead.”

Staff Numbers and Compliance Work Increase

Staff costs also rose during the year. The Commission spent £27.8 million on staff, up from £24 million, as its workforce grew by 11.5 percent. By the end of March 2025, it had 416 employees, compared to 373 the year before.

The operations team carried out more than 9,700 compliance activities, more than double the 4,200 completed in 2023–24. This was nearly 3,000 more actions than any previous year, showing a strong effort to monitor the gambling industry.

Enforcement Results and Industry Performance

The Gambling Commission fined 24 operators £4.2 million, lower than last year, suggesting standards may be improving. It also sent 516 cease and desist letters, removed 95,705 illegal gambling links, and issued 352 warnings to advertisers and affiliates.

The report revealed that 33.8 percent of licensed firms earned good ratings for consumer protection, while 19.7 percent showed serious weaknesses. For fairness and openness, 73.2 percent of firms received good scores, highlighting ongoing efforts to maintain high standards in the gambling industry.