The UK Gambling Commission is considering allowing crypto payments for licensed betting operators, as part of a wider push for regulations to help tackle illegal markets and foster innovation.
Executive director Tim Miller said the regulator wanted to examine a “potential way forward” for crypto payments in the UK, at the Betting and Gaming Council’s annual general meeting. Miller cited growing consumer demand and evidence that crypto-related searches are leading some players to unlicensed sites.
The Gambling Commission’s announcement comes after the UK government tabled the Financial Services and Markets (Crypto-Assets) Regulations 2025 (Crypto-Assets) 2025 before Parliament in December. If approved, the rules would bring cryptoassets under the jurisdiction of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and a new regulatory regime is expected to come into force in October 2027.
Miller said the Commission’s research shows crypto is “one of the two biggest searches” driving UK players to illegal operators. Growing consumer interest in digital assets, combined with these search patterns, has prompted the regulator to begin exploratory work.
The Commission has asked its industry forum to consider how crypto payments could be introduced in line with its licensing objectives, including anti-money laundering controls and consumer protection safeguards.
“There will be significant challenges and risks to overcome,” Miller said, adding that the Commission intends to approach the issue by “exploring the art of the possible” rather than rejecting innovation outright.
The proposal is designed in part as a response to the illegal market. The Commission has intensified its enforcement activities in recent years and secured additional funds from the Treasury to strengthen its efforts against unlicensed operators. Allowing regulated operators to accept crypto could help keep consumers in the licensed system instead of pushing them to offshore locations, Miller said.
Miller stressed that allowing crypto payments would not be the same as approving the operation of offshore crypto casinos in the UK. Any operator would still have to meet strict standards of suitability, compliance and know-your-customer under existing rules of the game, as well as upcoming FCA requirements, he added.
