The enactment of the Gambling Act 2025 represents a significant evolution in Gibraltar’s regulatory framework, moving away from a system historically linked to the location of infrastructure towards a more modern, hlistic and substance-driven regime. The legislation continues the separation between licensing and supervisory functions, with the Minister acting as the Licensing Authority, and a more empowered Commissioner, supported by the Gambling Division, responsible for day-to-day supervision and enforcement. This structure is intended to enhance accountability and enable a more responsive regulatory approach to an industry increasingly characterised by cross-border and digital activity.
Expansion of the Regulatory Perimeter
The most consequential development introduced by the Act is the expansion of what constitutes a “regulated activity”. Section 17 establishes a wide-ranging list which extends beyond traditional B2C and B2B gambling operations to include a number of ancillary and supporting activities, including marketing services, customer fund management, and certain ownership structures. This marks a clear departure from the previous framework, under which many of these functions operated outside the formal licensing regime.
In particular, section 17(1)(f) introduces the concept of “Gambling Operator Support Services”, capturing activities such as advertising, marketing, and the holding or management of customer funds. In addition, the inclusion of “Relevant Company ownership”, triggered where a Gibraltar-based entity holds more than 25% of shares or exercises significant influence, extends regulatory oversight to corporate structures that would not previously have been subject to licensing requirements.
However there are a number of activities which are excluded from the definition of gambling under the Act, such as “social gambling” and “free prize draws”. The former has a limited scope, applying only to certain land based non-commercial settings. The latter aligns with what are typically seen to be product promotions and free entry sweepstakes, where purchase of products or services can be incentivised by “free” entry into a draw to win a prize. These free prize draws are excluded from the definition of lotteries.
Regulation of B2B Services and Supply Chain Supervision
The expansion of scope is especially pronounced in relation to B2B services. Section 19 provides a detailed definition of what constitutes providing facilities for remote gambling, including content aggregation, platform services, software provision, and operational functions such as fraud prevention and customer relationship management.
Section 20 further strengthens this framework by granting the Commissioner the power to request detailed information regarding B2B services and, where necessary, to prohibit a licence holder from using a particular service or provider. This represents a significant extension of regulatory oversight into the operator’s supply chain, effectively requiring operators to ensure that outsourced functions meet regulatory expectations.
Under Section 30, the geographical net is in tandem and also wide to ensure that supply of any services that would be regulated under the Act, from any location to a Gibraltar licensed operator will require a licence. Therefore B2B and Support Service suppliers based outside Gibraltar will need to set up a base in the jurisdiction with enough substantive presence to qualify for and hold a supply licence for their B2C customers.
Personal Accountability and Regulated Individuals
A notable innovation in the Act is the introduction of a framework for Regulated Individuals under Part 5. Key functions within a gambling business must be performed by individuals approved by the Commissioner, and those individuals are subject to ongoing obligations and standards of conduct.
The concept of “significant influence” ensures that individuals who exercise material control over the business are brought within scope, even where they do not hold formal executive titles. This introduces a new layer of personal accountability and requires operators to formalise governance structures and clearly allocate responsibility within the organisation.
Enhanced Enforcement and Substance Requirements
The Act significantly expands the enforcement toolkit available to the regulator. Part 8 introduces a range of sanctioning powers, including administrative penalties, public statements, cease-and-desist orders, and prohibition orders. In addition, administrative penalties may be enforced as a civil debt, streamlining the recovery process and enhancing the effectiveness of financial sanctions.
These powers are complemented by the establishment of a dedicated Gambling Appeals Tribunal, providing a specialised forum for appeals against regulatory decisions.
At the same time, section 40 introduces a requirement for “sufficient substantive presence” in Gibraltar. While not exhaustively defined, this provision makes clear that the Authority must consider factors such as local operations, infrastructure, and economic contribution when assessing licence applications. This reflects a broader policy objective of ensuring that Gibraltar remains a jurisdiction associated with genuine operational activity rather than purely formal licensing.
It is expected that the sufficient substantive presence test will be applied proportionately both to the type of licence category and the size of the licensee’s target business. In other words B2C operators will generally be expected to have more persons on the ground than B2B or support service licensees, given the complexity of consumer facing operations. For marketing support services in particular, where companies want to continue benefitting from zero rated VAT in Gibraltar, their presence must be sufficient to also address transfer pricing and group company VAT taxation considerations.
Transitional Arrangements
The Act also includes transitional provisions designed to facilitate the move to the new regime. Schedule 8 provides that a person carrying on an activity which now requires a licence, but did not previously, may continue to operate under a transitional licence for a period of six months from commencement. This allows affected businesses a defined window within which to submit full applications without disrupting ongoing operations.
How Ramparts Can Assists
The Gambling Act 2025 significantly expands Gibraltar’s regulatory scope, affecting operators, group entities, service providers and affiliates alike.
As well as the Act itself, there will soon be associated new Codes of Practice published by the Commissioner setting out technical operational requirements and a new tiered licence fee structure.
Ramparts’ Betting & Gaming team can support scope assessments, licensing strategy, restructuring, B2B and marketing compliance, and governance under the new regime, including navigating the transitional period.
Please contact us for further information.
Comparison of Regulatory Frameworks
Feature | Gambling Act 2005 (Legacy) | Gambling Act 2025 (New) |
Licensing Trigger | Linked primarily to location of servers and infrastructure | Based on management, control and substantive presence in Gibraltar |
Licensing Scope | Focused on B2C operators and a limited scope of B2B suppliers | Extended to a much wider set of B2B services, marketing, customer fund management,, ownership and support services |
Change of Control | More limited and less perspective requirements | Comprehensive regime requiring notification, regulatory assessment and approval of acquisitions and changes in control, with powers to impose conditions or object |
Accountability | Corporate entity focus | Personal accountability for regulated individuals |
Enforcement | Limited range of sanctions | Broad and graduated enforcement toolkit |
Penalty Enforcement | Court-based recovery | Administrative penalties enforceable as civil debt |
Appeals | Direct court appeal | Specialist Gambling Appeals Tribunal |
