The Gambling Commission has confirmed that new rules regarding bonuses and promotions offered by UK betting sites to their customers will come into effect on January 19, 2026.
Firms will be prohibited from offering promotions that mix two verticals within the same offer, i.e. bet X amount and get Y free spins.
And, in a separate change, wagering requirements will be capped at a maximum of 10x.
The original ban was supposed to have come into play in December, but the regulator has now confirmed that the introduction will be delayed until the new year.
Mixed Grilled
The plan was first unveiled back in March.
The Gambling Commission revealed that their licensed operators would be prevented from offering what it described as ‘mixed product’ promotions.
That came about after a consultation, conducted in the wake of the 2023 Gambling White Paper, into the perceived safety and simplicity of welcome bonuses and ongoing promotions offered by UK betting sites.
Evidence suggests that offers which induce customers to bet on multiple verticals can be ‘more at risk of harm’ than from promotions that focus on a single product.
And the regulator is also concerned that mixed product promotions have different terms and conditions for each element of the offer – creating the potential for confusion on the part of the customer.
So the Gambling Commission set out plans to eradicate such bonuses, with the aim of ‘reducing harm and boosting fairness and openness.’
Wagering Cap
Meanwhile, the regulator also revealed plans to cap the detested wagering requirements that are attached to many betting bonuses in the UK.
There was previously no limit on how many times a customer could be forced to ‘play through’ their bonus before being allowed to withdraw any winnings accrued from the promo.
And, in some cases, these wagering requirements are as high as 50x – meaning that from a bonus worth just £10, players would have to stake an eye-watering £500 before they could get their hands on any winnings.
And that’s something that could lead to players depositing beyond their comfortable means, playing for longer and/or staking more than they normally would.
That has long been a source of controversy, particularly for those who were completely unaware that their bonus had wagering requirements attached, and so the Gambling Commission has moved to deal with the situation.
Now, the wagering requirements that a betting site can impose on their promotions will be limited to 10x, which the regulator believes will reduce the possibility of gambling harm being experienced.
At the time, the executive director of research at the regulator, Tim Miller, commented:
“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.”
Fair and Open
Betting bonuses aren’t going to be banned when they incorporate just a single product vertical, nor will promotions in which the customer is allowed to choose what incentives they want to claim – as long as the individual is allowed to choose from every single product that a site offers, rather than just a select few.
So, according to a blog post from the Gambling Commission, an offer of ‘bet £5 to get a free £5 bet’ will be compliant with the new rules.
However, a promotion with the terms ‘bet £5 and get 20 free spins’ will not as it mixes product verticals.
With regards to the terms and conditions of said offers, the regulator will be looking for T&Cs that are ‘clear, easily accessible, fair and open and socially responsible’… with the possibility of action being taken where terms don’t conform.
“As an outcomes focussed regulator, the Commission cannot offer prior approval for different incentives,” the blog post reads.
“The principles behind the rules are clear and if operators have doubts about a particular incentive, they should consider whether such an incentive may expose them to risk of non-compliance.”
An unexpected consequence is that bookmakers and online casinos may no longer be allowed to offer the free-to-play games that have become increasingly popular.
The likes of Paddy Power, who have launched their 9-Dart Champion game to coincide with the World Darts Championship, and other leading firms offer free games from which players can win spins and free bets, however these could not be outlawed where there’s the scope for customers to win different prizes across multiple verticals within the same game.
“The important point to note is that the customer must have full freedom of choice in which product category to use their credits or bonus money – it must not be restricted in any way by the operator,” said the Commission’s Pradeep Rajania.