DCMS to launch consultation on scrapping gambling permit duty
A minister told Parliament the department intends to consult shortly on revoking the legal duty to aim to permit gambling, and to publish the outcome of an earlier bingo licensing consultation.
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The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said it intends to launch a consultation on revoking the so called ‘Aim to Permit’ duty from the Gambling Act 2005, following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 11 August 2026.
The commitment was set out in a written answer to Parliament on 7 September 2026, responding to a question from Ben Coleman, Labour MP for Chelsea and Fulham, who had asked what the department’s planned timetable was for launching the consultation.
Minister Vicky Foxcroft, answering for the department, said the consultation would be launched “shortly” but did not give a specific date. She said the department also plans to publish an outcome from a previous consultation covering bingo licensing and Category D gaming machines.
Foxcroft said precise timelines would be communicated to stakeholders in due course.
The answer confirms that the department is proceeding with plans to remove the existing legal duty on licensing authorities to aim to permit gambling facilities, a change first signalled by the Prime Minister in August 2026. No further detail on the scope or content of the forthcoming consultation was given in the answer.
Source: UK Parliament written question 35220.
Contains parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.