Why OCSA Saves Operators Hundreds of Thousands vs a Gambling Licence

Prize Competitions are not (currently) gambling, but many operators do not realise how expensive and demanding a Gambling Commission licence would be if their online prize-draw competition activities ever fell under gambling laws or if new laws bringing them under Government oversight were introduced. The new DCMS 2025/26 voluntary code shows that the UK Government is now showing interest in this sector.

To show the difference clearly, here’s what a Top brand-name operator would pay if they had to operate under the Gambling Act instead of OCSA.

1. Gambling Commission Costs for a Large Operator

Application Fee (one-off)

Depending on size and GGY (Gross Gambling Yield):

£25,000 → £90,000+

Always paid upfront and always non-refundable.

Annual Licence Fee

For a high-turnover operator, the Gambling Commission’s annual fees typically fall between:

£50,000 → £150,000+ per year

And this rises as the operator grows.

Mandatory Additional Costs Under Gambling Law

  • Personal Management Licences (PMLs): £370 per person

  • Appointed Compliance Officer salary: £50,000–£120,000 per year

  • Enhanced AML / affordability checks: £20,000–£100,000+ annually

  • Consumer protection systems (GAMSTOP integration, monitoring systems, etc.)

  • Increased merchant charges due to “high-risk” classification

  • Legal fees for investigations, enforcement and audits

  • Record-keeping, audit trails, and customer monitoring obligations

Total realistic first-year cost under Gambling Commission oversight:

£100,000 – £350,000+

And that’s before a single prize is won by anybody.

2. OCSA Accreditation for the Same Operator

OCSA works specifically with prize competition operators — not gambling businesses — so the oversight, requirements, and costs are vastly lower.

A top brand-name operator would naturally sit in the Gold Accreditation Tier.

OCSA Gold — £1,275 per month

= £15,300 per year paid at £1275 per month

Every penny of this is:

100% Tax-Deductible

(Reducing the real cost by up to 25%, depending on your corporation tax band.)

Gold Membership includes:

  • Top-level trust badge (Gold Standard)

  • Priority complaint mediation

  • Unlimited complaint filtering & triage

  • Annual deep compliance audit

  • Certified Draw Verification (6 per year)

  • Prize verification audit

  • Anti-fraud behaviour reporting

  • Staff certification

  • Direct operator support

  • Guidance during disputes, PR issues, or regulator enquiries

Everything an operator needs to show high standards — without the crippling overhead of gambling regulation.

3. Side-by-Side Comparison

Cost CategoryGambling CommissionOCSA (Gold)Application fee£25k–£90k£150 Annual fee£50k–£150k+£15,300 Compliance officer salary£50k–£120k£0AML / Affordability systems£20k–£100k+£0PML licences£370 each£0Consumer harm systems (mandatory)£10k–£50k+£0Regulator auditsHigh riskIncludedMerchant account risk categoryHighNormal

4. The Bottom Line

A large prize competition operator would pay:

£100,000 – £350,000+ per year

to operate under Gambling Commission regulation.

But with OCSA Gold Accreditation?

£15,300 per year

✔ Fully tax-deductible
✔ Trusted industry standard
✔ Professional compliance support
✔ Dispute shielding
✔ Draw verification
✔ Reputational protection

And no AML enforcement,
no affordability duties,
no gambling-harm mandates,
no intrusive audits,
no “high-risk merchant” headaches.

5. Why OCSA Makes Sense

OCSA accreditation gives operators the trust, oversight, and transparency benefits of a regulatory framework — without forcing them into the crushing financial and administrative footprint of gambling law under the control of a government regulator.

And there is a wider industry-level benefit:

A strong, well-run, industry-backed standards body helps prevent unwanted government intervention.

When industries demonstrate:

  • effective self-regulation,

  • transparent standards,

  • consistent auditing,

  • fair complaint handling, and

  • responsible operational practices,

then government departments, regulators, and legislators have far less justification to impose statutory regulation.

A credible OCSA shows:

“This sector can govern itself responsibly — and does not require full Gambling Commission-style oversight.”

This protects operators from:

  • mandatory licensing

  • mandatory affordability checks

  • mandatory AML oversight

  • mandatory safer-gambling duties

  • six-figure regulatory fees

  • unwanted reclassification under the Gambling Act

By backing OCSA, operators strengthen the entire sector’s case for staying outside the full gambling regulatory regime.

For operators giving away £50k–£500k prizes, for brands spending tens of thousands every week on ads, for companies holding millions in turnover…

£1,275 per month is not a cost. It’s a safeguard. It’s protection. It’s a bargain.