UK Gambling Commission delays second phase of deposit-limit rules to September

The UK Gambling Commission has given licensed remote gambling operators an additional three months to implement the second phase of its updated deposit-limit requirements, moving the deadline from 30 June 2026 to 30 September 2026.

The regulator said the extension followed stakeholder feedback and is intended to allow more time for technical development and compliance work. The requirements are a change to the Remote Technical Standards, which were revised in October 2025 to strengthen customer-led tools for managing gambling activity.

From 30 September 2026, operators must offer gross deposit limits to customers and, in some cases, reintroduce them if they had previously been removed from the available options.

Gross deposit limits must be named “deposit limits”, and only this type of limit may carry that label. Operators will also be required to display gross deposit limits with at least equal prominence as other types of financial limits.

The Commission also clarified that, to ensure consistency across the industry, only gross deposit limits must be offered over fixed time frames from the new implementation date. Other forms of financial limits may continue to be offered using either rolling or fixed time frames.

The first phase of the revised RTS was introduced in October 2025 and included new limit types, standardization of self-exclusion and cooling-off periods, prompts for new customers to set financial limits, and reminders every six months for customers to review their accounts and transactions.

Licensees were also required to offer financial limits using free text at the account level, allowing customers to set more meaningful parameters.

The deposit-limit measure was first raised in February 2025 in response to the Gambling Act review white paper. At the time, the Commission said the changes were intended to give players “more effective” ways to manage their gambling.

The second phase was intended to refine definitions, increase the visibility of deposit limits, improve consistency across customer journeys, and support efforts to reduce consumer harm.

Operators will also need to update customer communications, revise help pages, and adjust compliance reporting procedures to reflect the restricted use of the “deposit limit” terminology and the required prominence of gross deposit limit options.

In October, Helen Rhodes, Director of Major Policy Projects at the Gambling Commission, said: “These further changes will also bring consistency and clarity for those consumers choosing to set deposit limits, while still supporting gambling businesses to offer customer choice for different forms of limits.”