UKGC To Cap Wagering Terms & Limit Product Promos
Published On 26th March 2025
The UK Gambling Commission have announced new rules that will impact new player welcome offers and player promotions. Following a consultation with stakeholders and in line with The 2023 Gambling White Paper gambling business will be forced to introduce yet more changes when these rules come into force come December 2025. According to The UKGC: "Gambling businesses will be banned from offering potentially harmful offers involving consumers having to carry out two or more types of gambling, such as betting and playing slots. Operators will also be limited on the number of times bonus funds must be re-staked before the consumer can withdraw winnings from the bonus". So what does this mean in simpler terms and what does it mean for gambling operators and various platforms.
Mixed Gambling Promotions
If you look through our current list of new player welcome offers you'll usually find that operators will incentivise depositing and/or spending with a bingo bonus and maybe some free spins. Delve into player promotions like those that we feature on a monthly basis and some of those may dish out free spins for placing bets. This is the kind of thing that won't be permitted after December 2025. In other words brands will only be able to offer a player one kind of product in a promotion. They won't be able to mix up bingo with slots or slots with sportsbook. It doesn't mean there won't be any promotions though! The premise behind this change is that The UKGC state "evidence shows consumers are more at risk of harm when they gamble on multiple products rather than a single product. There is also the risk that mixed product promotions confuse consumers because of complex terms and conditions". Furthermore this new ruling "is aimed at reducing harm and boosting fairness and openness".
Limits To Bonus Requirements
If you sign up as a new player across a number of platforms then the wagering requirement for any bonuses often varies. Some brands have "no wagering terms" whilst others such as those powered by Jumpman can have wagering terms as high as x65 your initial deposit. Wagering terms limit how quickly you can withdraw winnings and can still be confusing to players. From 19th December 2025 The UKGC will enforce a limit of just x10 on bonuses. According to The UKGC "Capping the wagering requirement to ten decreases the likelihood of harm, reduces complexity, and improves transparency while maintaining consumer choice". According to Tim Miller, Executive Director for Research and Policy "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".
Good News Or Bad News?
These forthcoming changes add another spanner in the works for gambling operators who will soon be understanding the impact on their businesses of wagering limits of up to £2 and £5 depending on player age. The cross-selling of products is going to be an interesting one when it comes to online bingo. Operators have often favoured slots over bingo so these changes could either mean lots of new bingo offers replacing those that offer spins (good news) or just no welcome offers (bad news). Cross selling is a massive part of online platforms and so the new ruling could be costly for many operators. In terms of wagering that's an intriguing one! High wagering terms can be off putting so capping them to x10 could encourage players to try different brands. On the other hand brands have high wagering because their business survival demands it. Those that already have low wagering or no wagering terms are going to be fine, but platforms such as Jumpman Gaming and Broadway Gaming are going to be impacted most.
So What Will Happen?
Every new rule by The UKGC feels like another hammer blow to the online gambling industry. But it always seems to find a way to get through and/or devise new ways to work. These new rules won't come into play for 9 months so that's a lot of time for businesses to adjust, test and come up with solutions. Those that are already under the x10 wagering threshold will just have to think up of new ways to cross sell without cross selling, but other platforms may have to rethink their whole strategy. We have no idea what this'll mean for affiliates other than there may be a lot of updates and review rewrites. Affiliates may also be useful when it comes to the cross-sell. They may not be able to offer spins and bonuses like operators but they can outline in reviews that a bingo site offers slots or that a casino has an excellent sportsbook. They could also be used to test different offers as operators look to find solutions to these new rulings. Knowing how things usually go it'll probably end up with affiliates being removed but for a change we're trying to be a little optimistic.
New UK Customers Only. New members only, must opt in. Min £10 deposit & wager. 30 day expiry from deposit. Free Spins: on Double Bubble. 1p coin size, max lines. Bingo: Advertised ticket value based on £1 tickets. Game availability & restrictions apply. BeGambleAware.org. 18+. Terms Apply #AD
New UK Customers Only. New Casino players only. Deposit required. Play £10+ on qualifying games. 40x wager reqs (Bonus only) on selected games. Accept Bonus within 14 days. Bonus valid for 30 days. Certain deposit types excluded. Player restrictions and T&Cs apply. 18+. #AD
New UK Customers Only. New customers only. Min deposit £20. Max bonus £30, bonus amount non-withdrawable, playable on selected games only. 5x wagering for £30 bonus. Expires within 30 days. Max win £2,000. 18+. Terms Apply #AD
Related & Recent Articles
- Bingo40 - Play 40 Ball Bingo
- Silverspin Affiliates Sell Off Their Bingo Brands
- Bet365 Bingo Move To Pragmatic Play
- The Real Story Of Clucky Bingo
- Play Entain Deal Or No Deal Bingo - 90 Ball Bingo
- Monopoly Casino Review
- Latest News
