The Gambling Commission has issued an industry warning notice regarding regulatory returns submissions, following “a spate of fines” levied on operators who have failed to submit before the deadline.

According to the latest release, more than ten businesses have been fined up to £750 since October for not correctly completing and submitting regulatory returns within the required timeframe.

“Despite early engagement and the issuing of advice notices, further failures to comply with the regulatory returns process were identified in these cases,” said director of enforcement John Pierce. “Operators are expected to understand their reporting obligations and must ensure returns are submitted on time via our online portal.”

“Repeated breaches and persistent non-compliance is likely to result in escalating enforcement action.”

Licence Condition 15.3.1, which concerns general and regulatory returns of the Licence Conditions Codes of Practice, was updated on 1 July last year, and requires all licensees to submit quarterly, as opposed to annual returns.

However, despite the strong wording of the warning notice, the Gambling Commission’s latest data lists more than 2,700 registered gambling businesses in the UK, meaning the number of late submissions represents just 0.3 percent of operators.

That’s probably lower than the number of licence applications that have not been tended by the Gambling Commission on time?

The next quarterly returns are due by 28 April 2025.