What Happened on 5 February 2026
Statutory Instrument No. 31 of 2026 — a commencement order signed by the Minister for Justice — brought a substantial body of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 into force on 5 February 2026. An Act on paper became law in operation: the GRAI gained its powers to grant licences across the licence categories, and the civil and criminal compliance and enforcement framework went live, including the complaints function.
The Supporting Cast
Days later, two further instruments completed the launch kit: the Gambling (Licence Application Fees) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 37/2026, 9 February) prescribing the tiered application fees, and the Gambling (Licensing of Gambling Activities) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 38/2026) setting licence durations. Together they made real applications possible — leading to the first B2C remote betting licences from 1 July 2026.
What It Did NOT Do
S.I. 31/2026 did not open online casino licensing — that phase is still ahead. Commencement orders activate provisions in batches; the Act will keep arriving in instalments through 2027-2028. That is normal for legislation this size, and it is why "is X in force yet?" is always worth checking against the actual instruments rather than headlines.
Why We Track This
Each commencement order changes what protections actually bind operators. Our daily tracker logs regulatory milestones alongside the licence register, so you can see what is law today, not what was announced last year. For the full plain-English picture of the Act, start with our player guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
A commencement order that brought core provisions of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 into force on 5 February 2026, including GRAI licensing powers and the enforcement and complaints framework.
No. It enabled licensing powers generally, but online casino applications had not yet opened. Remote betting licences followed from 1 July 2026.
Companion regulations: S.I. 37/2026 set application fees and S.I. 38/2026 set licence durations.