Know Your Phone

One Year to Go: New Rules Boost Gambling Customer Protection

14 October 2026

The Gambling Commission has tightened regulations around financial limits and account review prompts for online betting sites and arcades. From 31 October 2025, mandatory deposit limits will be required on registration, while businesses must remind consumers to review their spending every six months.

These changes form part of a wider package of rules on customer-led tools, introduced in 2025. That package added a stage before financial limits can be decided, and required businesses to make it easier for customers to check and modify their limit at any time.

Key updates to the rules from 31 October 2025 are:

- New Customers Must Set Deposit Limit

From 31 October 2025, all businesses will be required to prompt customers to set a deposit limit before their first payment, rather than at a later point. Limits must be displayed using text and be easy for consumers to check and change.

The limit option must appear on the homepage or at every payment point, with changes entered directly processed by the account.

These rules are designed to slow spending momentum and give more control over limits without waiting.

- Businesses Must Ask Consumers to Review Spending

From the same date, gaming companies and betting apps must remind consumers to review their account and spending at least every 6 months.

This mirrors the requirement already put in place for one-time consumers. It is hoped this will encourage more regular spending checks, without the need for gamblers to be notified by the operator.

Unlike the prompt-before-first-payment rule, the review reminder does not have a fixed cadence. The time between reviews can vary based on account activity.

In addition - starting last month from 7th October - gambling businesses must offer some form of free-text financial limit at an account level. Other limits can still be offered alongside this plain language limit.

Are There New Reality Check Rules?

Confusion has arisen over supposed new personalised notifications called 'reality checks' which weren't announced. Studies have shown that reality check limits help raise awareness of time spent gambling as well as money spent.

They aid consumers who are less aware of how long they have been playing - this being a known risk. Reality checks are used by most online operators already.

However, the Gambling Commission defined reality checking in its terms as 'on-screen alerts or tools to help monitor time spent' without including 'mandatory' or 'weekly'.

One Year Until the New Rules Take Effect

Gambling operators in the UK have until 31 October 2025 to comply with the new rules for mandatory deposit limits and half-yearly reminder checks.

For now, no new substantive notification limits, including 'reality checks', have been confirmed. The Gambling Commission is making it easier to limit spending - but so far has not mandated new check-up alerts.