Gambling Regulatory Deadlines to Watch in April 2026

Each month, we leverage data from our gambling regulatory updates to bring you a glimpse of the key response deadlines and legislation effective dates coming up, so you can plan and take action around some of the most important regulatory developments unfolding right now.

There are 17 regulatory deadlines in April, including 5 consultation end dates and 8 actionable deadlines. Notably, in Sweden an “expanded” ban on gambling with credit comes into force on April 1. Elsewhere, in the USA the deadline for submitting comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning dedicated Prediction Market regulations is April 26.

Which update is likely to receive the most media attention?

UK

On November 26, 2025, the UK Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published the Economic and fiscal outlook - November 2025. The outlook contains, among others, changes to gambling duties announced in the budget. Following changes take effect from April 2026:

• The Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) will be increased from 21 percent of profits (calculated as stakes received less winnings paid out) to 40 percent of profits.
• The 10 percent bingo duty will be abolished.
• From April 2027, a new rate of the general betting duty (GBD) for remote betting will apply at 25 percent of profits. However, this general betting duty will not be applied to self-service betting terminals, spread betting, pool bets, and horseracing. The duty on remote horserace betting will be unchanged at 15 percent.

Additionally, the government has also announced a freeze in the casino gaming duty bands in 2026-27. Budgetary estimates show that these changes to gambling duties are expected to raise £1.1bn by 2029-30.

Additional information is available in the government's response on the consultation on the tax treatment of remote gambling.

‍What are the most significant consultation end dates?

USA

On March 12, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on the need to amend or issue new regulations concerning event contracts traded on prediction markets.

As part of the notice, the CFTC seeks information and public comments on the CFTC's statutory core principles and its regulations applicable to prediction markets; the types of event contracts that may be prohibited as contrary to the public interest; and cost-benefit considerations related to prediction markets, among others.

The CFTC notes that it intends to use the information and comments received to inform potential future agency action, such as rulemaking, with respect to prediction markets.

Comments must be submitted in writing and received within 45 days of publication in the Federal Register or April 26, 2026. Comments may be submitted via the CFTC's Public Comments Portal.

Spain

On January 23, 2026, Spain notified the European Commission of a draft resolution approving the technical requirements for the message that commercial communications have to include to draw attention to the harmful effects of gambling addiction and gambling risky behaviour.

The warning message would replace the responsible gambling message currently regulated in Article 10(3) of Royal Decree 958/2020, such as “If you play, play responsibly!” or "Uncontrolled gambling can have harmful psychosocial consequences!”.

The available options include the following warning messages: 

• “Gambling addiction is a risk of gambling.”
• “The probability of being a losing gambler is 75%.”
• “Losses of all gamblers are four times greater than their winnings.”

The draft resolution not only details the form, size, layout, content and contrast of the proposed message on gambling risks, but also those of the warning regarding the prohibition on minors participating in gambling, as regulated in Article 11(3) of Royal Decree 958/2020.

The proposed resolution is scheduled to enter into force 60 days after its publication in the official gazette. The notification’s standstill period ends on April 27, 2026.

‍Which updates may fly under radar?

Denmark

On January 13, 2026, Denmark notified the European Commission about an act amending the gambling act and the corporation tax act.

The act includes:

• Restrictions on the scope and content of gambling advertising.
• A prohibition against advertising for gambling on television and streaming in connection with broadcasts of live sports.
• A prohibition against advertising for gambling within 200 meters of schools and youth education institutions and in connection with public transport.
• Content restrictions on marketing, including that there must be no use of authorities, that there must be no use of persons under the age of 25, and that the content must not appeal specifically to children and young people.
• Stricter rules for social media marketing and for affiliates.
• Strengthening of the gambling authority's supervisory powers.
• Expansion of the scope of which marketing activities for gambling without a license can be sanctioned.
• The introduction of measures to block the illegal marketing of games that are not authorised under the Gambling Act.

The standstill period for the notification ends on April 14, 2026.

Latvia

On December 18, 2025, the law amending the Law on Gambling and Lotteries and replacing the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection with the State Revenue Service as the regulatory gambling authority, was published in the Latvian official gazette.

The law also amends advertising rules as the prohibition to advertise gambling outside gambling venues will no longer apply to the display of a betting operator’s trademark:

• At sport venues and during sport competitions organised by recognised sports federations for adult athletes.
• In the name of a sport competition, sports club and league for adult athletes.
• In sponsorship announcements of sports organizations and adult athletes, if they are distributed for a specific sporting event.

Sponsorship cannot include an invitation for gambling or create the impression that playing leads to social or economic success. Additionally, a warning message that gambling is only permitted for those aged 18 years old and over, as well as information about self-exclusion, must be displayed at the sports venue or included in sponsorship announcements. The law enters into force on April 1, 2026.

‍

We’ve only shown you a snapshot of April’s deadlines. Want to see them all?

‍Book a demo with a member of our team, who can show you the full Regulatory Deadlines Calendar for this month.