The UK Gambling Commission has announced significant regulatory changes that will transform how betting operators structure their promotional offers. In a move designed to enhance player protection, the regulator will implement a maximum cap of ten times on bonus wagering requirements and prohibit mixed-product promotions that span different gambling verticals.
These landmark reforms, scheduled to take effect from December 2025, aim to address long-standing concerns about potentially exploitative terms and conditions that have required players to wager up to 50 times their bonus amount before being able to withdraw any winnings.
Wagering Requirements Capped at 10x
The most substantial change in the Commission’s announcement is the introduction of a strict limit on wagering requirements. Currently, many online casinos and betting sites impose conditions that require customers to bet the value of their bonus multiple times—sometimes up to 50 times the original amount—before any winnings become withdrawable.
Under the new regulations, operators will be restricted to imposing wagering requirements no higher than ten times the bonus value. This represents a dramatic reduction from current industry practices, where requirements of 30x, 40x or even 50x are commonplace.
For perspective, a player receiving a £10 bonus with current 50x requirements would need to wager £500 before withdrawing any winnings. Under the new 10x cap, that same player would only need to wager £100—a significant reduction that makes casino bonus offers more transparent and potentially more valuable to consumers.
The Commission stated that this change will “decrease the likelihood of harm, reduce complexity and improve transparency while maintaining consumer choice,” addressing concerns that excessive wagering requirements encourage problematic gambling behaviours as players chase bonus conversion.
Ban on Cross-Vertical Promotions
Another key element of the regulatory update is the prohibition of “mixed product” promotions. These are offers that require customers to place bets across multiple gambling verticals—for example, requiring sports betting followed by casino play—to fulfil bonus conditions.
The Gambling Commission’s research indicated that players face higher risks of gambling-related harm when engaging with promotions that span different product types. The regulator also noted that these cross-vertical offers often come with particularly complex terms and conditions that can confuse customers.
By eliminating these mixed promotions, the Commission aims to create clearer boundaries between different gambling activities and prevent operators from using bonuses to steer customers toward potentially more addictive gambling products they might not otherwise choose to engage with.
Implementation Timeline and Industry Impact
The regulatory changes are scheduled to be formally ratified and implemented on 19 December 2025, giving operators approximately a year to adjust their promotional strategies and technical systems to comply with the new requirements.
Tim Miller, Executive Director for Research and Policy at the Gambling Commission, emphasised the consumer protection aspects of these changes: “These changes will better protect consumers from gambling harm and give consumers much better clarity on, and certainty of, offers before they decide to sign up.”
The reforms represent part of the Commission’s ongoing response to the government’s Gambling White Paper, which outlined a comprehensive framework for updating the UK’s gambling legislation to ensure it remains fit for purpose in the digital age.
Industry observers note that these changes will likely have significant implications for operators’ marketing strategies, potentially reducing the headline value of some bonus offers while making them more genuinely accessible to players.
Regulatory Context and Recent Enforcement Actions
The Commission’s decision to reform bonus regulations follows several high-profile enforcement actions against operators found to have used promotions irresponsibly. In January 2024, Gamesys, which operates brands including Jackpot Joy and Bally Casino, received a £6 million fine after offering new promotions to a customer who had recently lost nearly £10,000.
Even more significantly, William Hill faced a record £19.2 million penalty in March 2023 after failing to intervene when new customers who had claimed welcome bonuses proceeded to wager thousands of pounds within hours of account creation—including one case where a player bet £23,000 in their first 20 minutes.
These enforcement actions highlight the Commission’s increasing focus on how bonuses and promotions can potentially exacerbate gambling-related harm, particularly when combined with inadequate customer interaction procedures.
While the regulator had considered additional restrictions on bonuses requiring “excessive intensity” of play, this potential measure has been shelved for now due to difficulties in establishing a concrete definition of what constitutes excessive gambling intensity.
The upcoming changes will be incorporated into the Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), the comprehensive rulebook that all UK-licensed gambling operators must follow as a condition of their operating licence.
For players, these reforms promise a more transparent bonus landscape where promotional offers come with clearer, more achievable conditions—potentially making gambling bonuses more valuable while reducing their potential to encourage harmful gambling behaviours.