White Paper Key Proposal: Online player protection

Light touch vulnerability checks will use publicly available data (like history of unpaid debts and  bankruptcy records) to identify risks of harm.

Frictionless financial risk assessments will be more detailed risk assessments, which is currently being run as a pilot program, allowing operators and credit agencies to test how they would share data as it relates to identifying gambling harm. The pilot of this system only involves the largest operators.

With respect to the pilot assessment on frictionless financial risk assessments, the Gambling Commission published an update on 21 May 2025 (see here), stating that the third stage of the pilot has come to an end and that the Commission has moved to an analysis phase which will run into the summer 2025 period.

The pilot of the frictionless financial risk assessments was expected to run from 30 August 2024 to 31 March 2025, but – per the Commission’s update published on 21 May 2025 – remains ongoing.

i. a minimum 5 second game speed for all non-slot games;

ii. a requirement for operators to display of net spend and net time information for casino games;

iii. a ban on autoplay for all online gambling products;

iv. a ban on operators offering features that facilitates playing multiple simultaneous games (as it relates to casino products);

v. a ban on audio or visual effects associated with a win of returns less than or equal to the amount  staked (which now extends to all casinos and not just slots);

vi. a ban on features that reduce the time for a the result to be known (e.g., turbo and quick spin) to all online gambling products; and

vii. new information security controls found in ISO27001:2022.

Updated requirements for security audits took effect on 31 October 2024 – meaning all annual security audits conducted after 1 November 2024 need to be updated to the ISO27001:2022 standard.

i. £5 maximum stake limit per spin for adults aged 25 and above.

ii. £2 maximum stake limit per spin for young adults aged 18 to 24.

On 21 May 2025, the £2 stake limit took effect, which applies to those aged between 18 – 24.

By way of example, the changes include requirements that: (i) customers must be prompted to set a financial limit prior to their first deposit; (ii) financial limits must be offered using free-text (rather than pre-determined amounts); and (iii) customer requests to decrease a financial limit must be actioned immediately.

On 6 March 2025, the Gambling Commission opened a short supplementary consultation on the definition of ‘deposit limits’ and other financial limits in the RTS – see here. The purpose of the consultation is “to improve consistency across the industry and to improve clarity and transparency about how limits work for consumers.”

The supplementary consultation on the definition of ‘deposit limits’ and other financial limits closed on 30 April 2025. The Commission is yet to publish their full response.

Possible further RTS amendments may be announced when the Gambling Commission publish their response to the supplementary consultation.