UK online deposit limits to be phased in from end of October
Summary
The Gambling Commission has published guidance on phased implementation of mandatory online deposit limit rules announced earlier in the year. The first set of changes takes effect from 31 October 2025, with a further requirement that, by 30 June 2026, all UK online operators must allow customers to set deposit limits based on gross deposits over specified timeframes.
Key early requirements include prompting new customers to set a financial limit before their first deposit, accessible limit-setting links on home and deposit pages, six-month reminders to review account activity, and immediate action on customer requests to reduce limits. The guidance clarifies terminology: only gross-total deposit limits may legally be called “deposit limits”, operators may also offer loss, withdrawal or net-deposit limits (the latter defined as deposits minus withdrawals), and “spend limits” will be renamed “stake limits”.
Key Points
- Initial rule changes come into force on 31 October 2025; full requirement to offer deposit limits in place by 30 June 2026.
- Operators must prompt new customers to set a financial limit before their first deposit; the prompt should be easy to review and amend.
- Deposit limits are defined as gross deposits over a chosen period; only these can be called “deposit limits”.
- Operators must offer easy-to-find links to financial limit settings on homepages and deposit pages, with few clicks required to access them.
- Customers must receive reminders every six months to review their account and transaction information.
- Operators must immediately process requests to decrease financial limits; opting out of a limit is subject to a 24-hour cooling-off period.
- Additional limit types (loss limits, withdrawal limits, net deposit limits) may be offered but must be given equal prominence.
- Technical rule: when multiple timeframes overlap, the most restrictive limit applies.
Context and relevance
The measures follow recommendations from the Gambling Act review white paper and align the UK with jurisdictions like the Netherlands and Germany that already enforce mandatory deposit limits. This guidance is aimed at reducing consumer confusion, strengthening harm-prevention tools and providing consistent definitions so players and operators know exactly what different limit types mean.
For operators, compliance teams and product owners, these changes will require updates to onboarding flows, site navigation, account settings UI and customer-service procedures. For regulators and consumer groups, the rules represent a move towards clearer, standardised consumer protections in online gambling.
Why should I read this?
Quick and simple: if you run, build for, or regulate UK-facing gambling services, this is one of those compliance deadlines you can’t ignore. The first phase starts at the end of October — so check onboarding prompts, limit-setting links and your definitions now before it becomes a bigger headache.
Author style
Punchy: This is a practical, operator-facing update that tightens how limits are defined and shown to customers. If your business touches UK accounts, this guidance directly affects UX, customer support and regulatory risk — read the detail and action the short-term items now.