Recently, the UK Gambling Commission has announced a new set of measures aimed at boosting the level of consumer protection market-wide.
The main goal of the rules is to provide greater clarity for online players regarding setting deposit limits. When it comes to financial limits, the commission announced new deposit rules for next year, but in fear that players may face confusion, the updated rules will bring consistency across the UK casino market. Ultimately, the regulator wants to empower players to take better control of their gambling budgets.
New Era of Deposits
Under the revised regulations, which take full effect on 30 June 2026, all online gambling operators will be required to offer customers a clear and consistent way to set a “deposit limit”. This cap is going to be based only on how much a player deposits into their account over a chosen period. The thing that eliminates any kind of potential confusion is that only this specific type of restriction can be referred to as a “deposit limit”. Hence, players will no longer doubt what exactly the deposit limit can be.
But that’s not all.
Besides deposit limits, operators can continue to offer other types of controls to their customers. Some of those include loss limits or limits that factor in withdrawals. Of course, operators must do that in a way that clearly distinguishes those limits from deposit-based limits.
The updated framework is part of a phased rollout of several consumer protection measures.
The first major milestone arrives on 31 October 2025, when gambling businesses will have to:
- Prompt players to set a limit before their first deposit and make it easy to modify that set limit later.
- Introduce reminders for customers every six months to review their spending and account activity.
- Offer flexible limit-setting tools using free text fields to encourage meaningful self-regulation and encourage players’ self-control.
- Ensure quick and easy access to all limit-setting options directly from the homepage using deposit page links.
- Invite all customer requests to lower financial limits immediately.
And this is clearly just the beginning. The UKGC is one of many regulators that is actively working on increasing player protection and ensuring fairness and responsibility in their respective jurisdiction.
Other Changes
The new set of rules is meant to support a range of improvements that were introduced in recently. Just last year, the Commission introduced caps for stakes, which include limits for players aged 18-25 that cannot exceed £2, and £5 for older players.
But that’s not all. There’s also a plan to introduce a cap for wagering requirements near the end of the year. As announced, there's going to be a ban of rollover higher than 10x. Moreover, casinos will no longer be able to cross-promote products such as sports betting with casino content. Read more about new regulatory changes right here.
Helen Rhodes, the Commission’s Director of Major Policy Projects, said that the changes are about empowering players rather than restricting them.
“Our work will help empower consumers to have greater awareness and control over their gambling,” Rhodes explained. “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.”
The Commission’s latest measures form part of an ongoing effort to modernize gambling regulation and promote responsible play across the UK’s online betting landscape.
By changing how sites and players communicate limits, the regulator hopes to create a safer and more transparent environment for everyone. Stay tuned for more updates and news from the industry, including insight into upcoming changes from the UKGC.
