The UK Gambling Commission has announced sweeping new restrictions on promotional incentives, including a ban on mixed-product bonus offers and a cap on bonus wagering requirements, in a bid to enhance consumer protection and transparency.
Under the changes, set to take effect on 19 December 2025, gambling operators licensed in the UK will be prohibited from offering promotions that require consumers to engage with more than one type of gambling product, such as combining a sports bet with a slots game, as a condition for receiving a bonus. The move would harshly limit cross-selling promotions, a move that worries the regulated industry.
The regulator cited evidence that consumers face a higher risk of harm when gambling across multiple product types and that mixed-product offers often involve complex terms that can mislead or confuse users. The ban follows findings from a 2023 consultation and aligns with the government’s 2023 white paper, High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age.
While consumer groups, charities, and public health advocates largely welcomed the move, many industry stakeholders expressed concerns about its implications. Several operators argued that their customers valued mixed-product offers and that the ban would reduce promotional flexibility and product diversity.
In response, the Commission clarified that the new rules would only apply to offers where the conditions are explicitly tied across different product types. Offers that allow credit to be used freely across various products without conditional wagering will not be affected.
Alongside the bonus ban, the Commission is introducing a cap on bonus wagering requirements, limiting them to 10 times the bonus amount. This means that a £10 ($12.96) bonus can require no more than £100 ($129.5) in bets before any associated winnings become withdrawable.
Previously, some promotions required consumers to stake bonus winnings 40 or 50 times over, a practice the Commission criticized as both confusing and potentially harmful, encouraging users to gamble faster and for longer periods. The 10x cap, regulators argue, strikes a balance between commercial viability and consumer protection.
Just over half of the consultation respondents supported the 10x limit, while others pushed for a complete ban on wagering requirements. Industry representatives largely opposed a full ban, citing fraud-prevention needs and suggesting the cap was a workable compromise.
Further updates will also be made to the Social Responsibility Code 5.1.1 (Rewards and Bonuses) within the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). These revisions aim to clarify the Commission’s expectations around promotions and minimize ambiguity for licensees.
Tim Miller, Executive Director for Research and Policy at the Gambling Commission, said the upcoming rules will offer greater clarity and safety for consumers navigating gambling offers. “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,” Miller stated.
The reforms build on earlier measures announced in August 2023, requiring licensees to offer consumers opt-outs for direct marketing by product and channel, which are scheduled to come into effect in May 2025.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2025/03/27/99591-uk-gambling-regulator-bans-mixedproduct-bonuses-caps-bonus-wagering-requirements
