Jackpot Field GuideSelected milestones
Gaming Act 1845
The Act made gambling contracts unenforceable in law and formed part of the nineteenth-century shift toward statutory control of gaming.
Betting and Gaming Act 1960
The legislation permitted licensed betting shops and reshaped lawful commercial betting in Great Britain after decades of tighter restriction.
Gaming Act 1968
A new licensing structure regulated commercial gaming and casinos, building a more formal supervisory framework.
National Lottery begins
The first National Lottery draw took place under the framework created by the National Lottery etc. Act 1993.
Gambling Act 2005
The Act created the Gambling Commission and established the principal framework for regulating commercial gambling in Great Britain, including remote gambling.
Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards
The point-of-consumption regime required remote operators serving consumers in Great Britain to hold the appropriate Gambling Commission licence.
Credit card gambling ban
The Gambling Commission’s ban on gambling with credit cards took effect for most gambling products, with limited statutory exceptions.
What the modern licence means
A UK Gambling Commission licence places duties on an operator serving Great Britain, including requirements around fair and open play, protection of children and vulnerable people, anti-money-laundering controls and complaint information. The public register can be used to check the legal entity and licensed activities.
Licensing does not turn gambling into a safe investment and does not mean the regulator recommends an operator. It creates a legal and supervisory framework, while individual games still carry risk.
