UK Gambling Commission To Explore Crypto Payments For Bets

The UK Gambling Commission is preparing to examine whether licensed betting operators in Great Britain should be allowed to accept cryptocurrency as a payment option.

Tim Miller, the Gambling Commission’s executive director of research and policy, announced the initiative during a speech at the Betting and Gaming Council’s annual general meeting in London.

The review comes as the Financial Conduct Authority develops a regulatory framework for digital assets, with rules expected to be finalised this year and take effect in late 2027.

Miller said gambling companies could be among those applying for crypto licences under the forthcoming regime. He has asked the Industry Forum, an advisory group representing gambling sector workers, to consider how cryptocurrency payments could be introduced for licensed gambling.

Gambling Commission Considers Crypto Payment Options

“That, as well as the growing appetite we see from punters, means we do now want to start looking at what the potential path forward would be to create a way for cryptoassets to be used as a consumer payment option for licensed and regulated gambling in Great Britain,”

Miller said.

Around 8% of UK adults own cryptocurrencies, although the proportion declined last year despite Bitcoin reaching a record high in October before subsequently falling back.

Miller said allowing consumers to use digital assets with regulated gambling operators could also help address risks associated with unlicensed sites.

According to data from Yield Sec cited in the source, illegal operators accounted for 71% of Europe’s online betting and casino market in 2024.

Crypto Payments Would Not Mean Crypto Casinos

Miller acknowledged that allowing cryptocurrency payments would present regulatory challenges and stressed that a potential payment framework would not necessarily result in crypto casinos being permitted in Great Britain.

He said operators would still need to meet existing requirements, including know-your-customer and suitability checks.

“I am keen that we approach this in the spirit of exploring the art of the possible rather than starting from a position of finding all the reasons not to innovate,”

Miller said.

He added that operators currently operating illegally could face difficulties meeting the suitability requirements needed to enter the regulated market.

“If they had been operating illegally up to this point, they would struggle to pass a suitability test,”

Miller told Bloomberg News.

The Gambling Commission’s review comes as regulators and policymakers continue to develop the UK’s approach to digital assets, while unlicensed gambling remains a concern. A separate Yield Sec report published in January estimated that unlicensed operators had grown to account for 9% of the UK gambling market.