The UK Gambling Commission Considers To Open the Door to Crypto

For years, British gamblers searching for crypto betting options have ended up on unregulated offshore sites. The UK Gambling Commission has apparently decided that problem is worth solving.

The UKGC announced what it describes as a “tentative first step” toward exploring how cryptocurrency could be integrated as a payment method within the licensed UK betting industry. No changes have been implemented. No timeline has been confirmed. What has been confirmed is that the conversation is now officially happening at the regulatory level, and that alone marks a shift from where things stood twelve months ago.

Why the Commission Moved at All

The reasoning behind the review is more pragmatic than ideological. Research conducted by the Commission found that cryptocurrency ranks among the top search terms leading UK gamblers toward unregulated offshore platforms. In other words, the demand exists regardless of whether the legitimate industry accommodates it. Ignoring that demand hasn’t made it disappear, it’s redirected it somewhere far harder to regulate.

Executive Director Tim Miller acknowledged a “growing appetite” among punters for digital asset payments, while noting that crypto currently has no sanctioned place within the licensed UK market. The implication is straightforward: a regulated pathway keeps consumers inside a framework designed to protect them. The absence of one does the opposite.

The timing also aligns with broader UK financial regulation. The Cryptoassets Regulations 2025, passed under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, will bring digital assets under formal FCA oversight, giving the UKGC a regulatory counterpart to work alongside as it develops any future framework.

The Timeline Is Long

Anyone expecting near-term change will need patience. The UKGC has tasked its Industry Forum with investigating what a regulated crypto payment pathway might actually look like, that investigation is only beginning. The FCA is expected to finalize its general crypto licensing rules by late 2026, with the new regime coming into full force on October 25, 2027. The application period for crypto licenses is currently expected to open in September 2026.

What that means in practice: gambling firms interested in offering crypto payments would likely need to seek FCA authorization under the new regime before the UKGC could meaningfully integrate them into its own licensing framework. The earliest a functioning system could realistically exist is 2027, and that assumes no delays, no significant pushback during consultation periods, and a clean implementation across two separate regulatory bodies coordinating in parallel.

Some could say that’s a lot of assumptions.

The Obstacles Are Structural

The Commission has been explicit that any future adoption must satisfy its core licensing objectives: preventing financial crime and protecting vulnerable users. Neither requirement is straightforward in a crypto context.

Source of wealth verification, already a complex requirement for traditional gambling accounts, becomes considerably harder when funds originate from a pseudonymous wallet. Operators would need to demonstrate robust identity and verification processes before any authorization would be considered.

Price volatility presents a separate concern specific to responsible gambling standards. A player depositing an asset whose value can shift significantly between deposit and withdrawal introduces complications that flat-currency accounts simply don’t carry.

The most likely solution, based on models being discussed, involves a gateway requirement: crypto payments would be processed through FCA-registered exchanges that convert digital assets to fiat before the funds ever reach the gambling operator. The operator, in that model, never actually touches crypto, they receive sterling, the same as any other deposit. The crypto exposure sits entirely on the payment infrastructure side.

That architecture solves some problems while introducing others, particularly around user experience and the friction that comes with mandatory conversion steps.

What It Means for the Industry

The UKGC opening this door, even cautiously, sends a signal to operators that planning for crypto integration is no longer premature. Firms that build relationships with FCA-authorized exchanges now, and develop compliance frameworks around crypto source-of-wealth checks ahead of the September 2026 application window, will be better positioned than those who wait for finalized rules before moving.

The offshore market that currently captures crypto-seeking UK gamblers is not going to wait for 2027. The question is whether the licensed industry can build something credible enough to pull that demand back before the habits become permanent.

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