Rulebooks are getting longer and the penalties sharper. From banks to hospitals to gambling operators, the UK’s most regulated industries are turning to software to keep pace and to prove they are doing right by customers as well as regulators.
Regulation in the UK is constant, but 2025 has already felt like a turning point. Financial services are grappling with fresh anti-money laundering rules, healthcare is being pushed harder on data security and gambling operators are under closer scrutiny on marketing and affordability. Faced with this mix, firms are relying more heavily on technology — tools that lighten the workload, flag risks early and build the kind of audit trail regulators now expect.
This is the territory of RegTech. Short for regulatory technology, it covers a growing set of systems designed to make compliance more efficient and less prone to error. That might be identity checks processed in seconds, transaction monitoring that runs in real time or policy engines that update workflows the moment rules change. In industries where mistakes carry not only fines but reputational damage, these solutions are becoming essential.
Gambling under pressure: a test case for RegTech
Finance and healthcare often dominate the conversation, yet gambling shows clearly how regulation forces technology forward. Many of the most trusted UK casino websites recognised in industry rankings for their focus on security and compliance now use the same technology stack as banks, automated KYC, analytics that flag unusual play and tighter withdrawal controls.
Industry rankings highlight what regulators prioritise: valid licensing, clear bonus terms, transparent payout rates and secure payments such as PayPal.. For players, that means smoother transactions. For regulators, it is evidence that protection is built into the system.
The Gambling Commission’s April 2025 changes added further pressure, with stricter affordability checks and capped slot stakes of £5 for over-25s and £2 for younger adults. These rules can only be policed through technology. Manual checks cannot keep pace with live play, and the Commission expects RegTech to carry the load.
A broader trend across industries
The pressure is not limited to traditional high-risk sectors. Even technology giants are feeling the strain, with Apple recently warning that tougher UK rules could slow innovation and expose its systems in ways it claims would harm users. For more established regulated industries, though, the trend has been building for years.
The financial sector felt it first. After the 2008 crisis, new regulation drove compliance costs sharply upward. Annual spending is estimated at around £80bn, forecast to hit £120bn within five years. When compliance budgets grow faster than revenues, automation becomes survival rather than choice. That’s why you now see young firms like Adclear securing £500,000 in pre-seed funding to help financial services scale their compliance processes more efficiently.
Healthcare faces similar pressures. Cloud-based records, telemedicine and mobile diagnostics create sensitive data volumes that old compliance models cannot manage. Encryption and behavioural analytics are now expected parts of the infrastructure, with regulators watching closely.
For gambling, the statutory levy introduced in April 2025 added political weight to the debate. Operators now contribute to research and treatment, but the levy only makes sense if systems can demonstrate harm is being reduced in real time. RegTech has become the means of proving that.
Benefits that go beyond efficiency
The case for RegTech often starts with cost. Automating checks or reports saves time and reduces reliance on staff for repetitive tasks. Accuracy is the bigger gain. By standardising checks, automation takes away the unevenness that comes with manual work. That matters in compliance, where even a minor oversight can trigger serious consequences.
Customers also benefit given that faster onboarding, clearer risk warnings and cleaner withdrawal processes improve the overall experience. In markets where trust is fragile, that smoothness becomes part of credibility.
A Deloitte survey captured the pressure, with 61% of compliance professionals naming “keeping up with regulatory change” as their top challenge. Put simply, most teams begin the day already behind, and RegTech is one of the few things helping them catch up.
Obstacles that hold firms back
The technology is no cure-all. Integrating RegTech with legacy systems is rarely seamless and often costly. Data quality is another weak spot: advanced analytics cannot deliver reliable results if the inputs are incomplete or inconsistent. Training matters too; without it, expensive tools risk being underused.
Digitisation also creates new vulnerabilities as compliance platforms hold identity and payment data that are attractive to criminals as well as regulators. The National Cyber Security Centre has urged firms to treat compliance systems as critical infrastructure, investing in layered security and encryption (NCSC). The irony is hard to ignore: the very software designed to manage risk has become a risk category of its own.
Cultural resistance lingers, with some firms still treating compliance as a paper-first discipline. Moving to continuous monitoring demands more than procurement; it calls for a shift in mindset.
Compliance’s Next Chapter
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are driving growth, with systems now able to flag risks and scan rulebooks in real-time. What was experimental a few years ago is now routine. For a snapshot of the UK companies setting the pace, the RegTech 50 ranking
showcases the startups and scaleups shaping compliance.
RegTech-as-a-Service is also spreading fast. Delivered through the cloud, it lowers costs for smaller firms while giving larger operators consistent standards across different markets. Gambling is a clear example, with UK rules often diverging from those overseas.
The momentum feels irreversible. Regulators are tightening, penalties are rising and public tolerance is lower. Technology has moved from support act to framework and firms that still treat it as optional are already behind.