Gibraltar’s Parliament unanimously passed a new Gambling Act on 18 March 2026, replacing the framework the territory had operated under since 2005. Most of its provisions took effect on 1 April 2026, with a six-month adjustment period running alongside it to let the industry transition without disruption.
From Entities to Activities
The core structural change is philosophical as much as legal. The 2005 Act licensed gambling entities — a company either held a Gibraltar licence or it didn’t, and regulation followed the entity. The 2025 Act instead regulates activities. A business can now fall within the Commissioner’s remit by performing a specific regulated function connected to a Gibraltar licence holder, even without being based in Gibraltar or holding a Gibraltar licence of its own.
The New Licence Category
Where the 2005 Act operated with a comparatively unified licensing structure, the 2025 Act introduces three distinct categories: a B2C Gambling Operator’s Licence, a B2B Gambling Operator’s Licence, and a genuinely new Gambling Operator Support Services licence covering marketing services and the ownership structures behind gambling businesses — activities the old Act never brought under direct oversight.
Stronger, More Flexible Enforcement
The old Act gave the Commissioner one serious enforcement tool: suspend or revoke. The 2025 Act adds administrative penalties, cease-and-desist orders and prohibition orders, giving the Commissioner room to respond proportionately rather than reaching straight for the most severe option.
The New Appeals Route
The most significant procedural addition is the Gambling Appeals Tribunal, an independent body that reviews challenges to Commissioner decisions. Under the old framework, an operator’s only real recourse against a Commissioner ruling was judicial review through the courts. The Tribunal gives both operators and the regulator a faster, purpose-built route to resolve licensing disputes.
Existing licence holders were not required to reapply — a licence held under the 2005 Act automatically carried over and is treated as valid under the new Act during the transitional period.