On Tuesday, Great Britain’s Gambling Commission published guidance for operators on the new online deposit rules that had been announced in February. The measures will be introduced in phases, the commission said, with the initial stage to commence this month.

The introduction of deposit limits follows a recommendation made in the Gambling Act review white paper. Mandatory limits are becoming common practice and are already enforced in the Netherlands and Germany.

From 30 June 2026, all UK online operators must provide users with the opportunity to set a deposit limit. Clarifying this, the Gambling Commission said these limits must be based on the amount customers pay into their account over a set duration.

As part of the scheme, gambling operators can also offer loss limits or limits on withdrawals, on top of the required deposit limits. These, the regulator said, could be loss limits based on gross deposits, meaning total deposits made during a period, rather than deposits minus withdrawal.

October deposit limit deadline around the corner

The new rules will be introduced in stages, with the first set of amendments effective from 31 October.

From the end of October, operators must ensure new customers are met with a prompt to set a financial limit before they make their first deposit. This, the regulator said, should be easy to review and alter.

Operators will also be required to remind consumers every six months that they must review their accounts and transaction information. Licensees must also offer financial limits using free text at an account level to help customers set meaningful limits

Other changes include operators providing financial limit-setting facilities via a link on the homepage and deposit pages. These must be clearly visible and accessible, and require a low number of clicks to reach the facilities.

Finally, operators will be required to respond immediately to customer requests to decrease their financial limit.

Changes are to empower customers

The commission said the changes mainly focus on how limits are to be defined and communicated to customers. This, it said, will help consumers better manage their gambling habits.

Helen Rhodes, director of major policy projects at the Gambling Commission, added that the new rules will give players more control over their gambling. She added that the new-look limits will “empower” consumers.

“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,” she said.

Consultation heralds mixed responses

The new rules are based on responses from a Gambling Commission consultation launched in March. This review sought to help the sector understand what the incoming measures could look like.

The consultation focused on three main proposals: setting gross deposit limits as default, whether to allow consumers to select “net” limits – deposits minus withdrawals – and the definition of the term “deposit limit”.

It received mixed responses, with some respondents raising concerns over the regulator making gross deposit limits mandatory. There were also some calls to make implementation guidance clearer, as well as to place restrictions on the use of “deposit limit” as a term.

Taking this into account, the commission first sought to clarify certain terminology to reduce the risk of confusion. One example being that only limits that meet the “gross” deposit limit – total deposits made during a period – can now be defined as a “deposit limit”.

The regulator also concluded that operators must offer deposit limits as a minimum but can also set other limit types. However, these must be given equal prominence on the operator’s website.

Reducing confusion among consumers

In terms of technical settings, it was decided that when a consumer sets timeframes across several limit types, the one with the most restrictive setting must apply.

The commission also reiterated that consumers who set a deposit limit cannot deposit again until this period has ended or they opt out of the limit, with the latter subject to a 24-hour “cooling off” period.

As for operator guidance, the commission said the term “spend limits” will be replaced by “stake limits”. This, it said, better aligns with gambling behaviour and will be less confusing for consumers.

Other points included clarifying what “loss limit” means to the consumer. Operators should make clear that this is defined as total stakes minus any winnings within a set timeframe.

In addition, the commission had advocated for the introduction of the term “net deposit limit”. This, it said, is defined as deposits minus withdrawals within a selected period.