Commission follows survey results with new deposit rules for operators

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is making good on its pledge to introduce new controls to the industry with some new standards around deposit limits.

The Commission has made changes to the rules and wording around deposit limits, which all licensed operators will be required to provide to customers from 30 June 2026 onwards.

A ‘deposit limit’ has been defined as the amount a customer pays into their account over a set duration, with any other limits such as loss limits or ones which also take withdrawals into account sitting on top of this.

Ahead of the June 2026 deposit limit requirement, operators expect some new requirements from 31 October 2025 onwards which fall in line with the Commission’s expanded regulatory oversight over bettor affordability.

Companies will be required to encourage customers to set financial limits before a deposit is made and must make it easier for customers to review and alter their limit. Customers will need to be reminded to review accounts and deposit limits every six months.

Firms will also be required to provide financial limit setting facilities via a link on the bookmaker’s homepage and deposit pages, and any customer requests to decrease a financial limit must be addressed immediately.

“Our work will help empower consumers to have greater awareness and control over their gambling,” said Helen Rhodes, Commission Director of Major Policy Projects.

“These further changes will also bring consistency and clarity for those consumers choosing to set deposit limits, while still supporting gambling businesses to offer customer choice for different forms of limits.”

Customer affordability was a huge talking point throughout the review of the 2005 Gambling Act, which lasted two-and-a-half years and saw some heated debates around various topics – this being one of the fiercest.

The notion of affordability checks received a lot of pushback. The horse racing sector estimated losses of up to £60m as a result of operator profits falling while operators warned about customers being driven to the black market by over-intrusive checks, which may seem familiar to the current debate around taxation to many.

The review would ultimately introduce the concept of ‘finance risk checks’, which were placed at the centre of the Commission’s responsible gaming strategy. However, it has now concluded that the checks could have ultimately pushed some customers to the black market.

Nevertheless, the regulator continues to keep affordability at the forefront of its strategy, unsurprising given that the results of its latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) found that people in underprivileged areas are more likely to suffer from gambling related harm than those in more affluent ones.

Commenting at the time of the GSGB’s publication, Andrew Rhodes, Commission CEO, said: “From the end of this month our new rules will give consumer controls over deposit limits and all gambling businesses must prompt their customers to set a financial limit before they make their first deposit.”