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Gambling Commission warns poker operators over fairness
18+ onlyWritten, edited and fact-checked by the All The Aces desk in Britain — how we work and how we correct mistakes. Some links out are paid placements; they are not reviews, and nobody pays for coverage. Gambling in the UK is licensed by the Gambling Commission, and nothing here is advice to bet.
11 November 2026
In a renewed push against unfair practices, the UK's regulator is tightening scrutiny to ensure poker remains "crime free, fair and open". Alongside probing peer-to-peer games for cheating and bot usage, it is pushing operators to make terms and bonus structures more transparent to protect customers.
Since October 2015, the Gambling Commission has been reviewing how well existing Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, and technical standards, are preventing collusion and cheating in peer-to-peer poker games. Concerns centre around the use of automated poker robots, or "bots", and third-party software that could distort game integrity.
However, the Commission's focus on fairness goes beyond game integrity to encompass how operators structure terms, bonuses and disclosures. In updated guidance on "fair terms and practices", the regulator warned that some licensees are still using unclear terms that give them unfair discretion over how those terms are applied.
In its February 2022 guidance, the Commission said licensees should review their terms and conditions to make sure they comply with consumer protection laws and the LCCP. They must also be able to provide evidence showing how their terms are fair and transparent if asked.
The regulator advised that rewards and bonuses must be constructed in a way that is socially responsible, and wagering requirements should not encourage excessive play. The Codes state licensees must be able to prove that their terms are not unfair.
Under the remote gambling technical standards, operators must make a player's guide and other required information easily accessible to customers. The RTS implementation guidance goes further, warning that using a program to gamble on a player's behalf may allow others to exploit it.
| Required Poker Disclosure Items | Where to Display |
|---|---|
| Player's guide | Dedicated player's guide page |
| Game rules and warnings about 3rd party apps | Game descriptions, rules, terms and conditions, information pages |
| Information about how to place appropriate stakes and limits | Game descriptions, rules, terms and conditions, information pages |
| Information about third-party bots and cheating | Game descriptions, rules, terms and conditions, information pages |
The Commission first signaled its tough stance on unclear terms in 2018, when it accepted Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) advice on a range of sectors, including gambling. The non-binding CMA guidance insisted that companies cannot use legal jargon or unnecessarily long terms and conditions.
The 2015 peer-to-peer poker review was intended to inform a future consultation on remote technical standards, but the Commission has not yet confirmed the timeline. The CEO has made it clear, however, that "crime free, fair and open" gambling is at the heart of the Commission's strategy. That applies every bit as much to how operators' terms and bonuses are structured as to how well they prevent collusion and cheating.
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