What you need to know about the ongoing UK iGaming regulation changes

What you need to know about the ongoing UK iGaming regulation changes


by Louisa Heath
Content Executive

31 January 2025

What you need to know about the ongoing UK iGaming regulation changes         

How much do you understand about the government’s current plans to change regulations around online casino games and betting?  

There’s a lot to unpack from the Gambling Commission’s 2024 White Paper, with many of the proposed measures already in force and more coming down the pipeline. 

The betting landscape looks set to change a lot in 2025 as a result of the Gambling Commission’s initiatives, meaning that it’s crucial for operators to remain fully aware and up to date on what’s happening.  

Plus, as more measures come into place over the coming months, their impact on the market will start to become more tangible. 

Let’s dive into the details of what’s already changed, what’s still to come, and how they could change the UK iGaming landscape as we know it. 

Remote game design changes 

On January 17, new rules surrounding the speed and intensity of remote games came into effect. This extended rules which already applied to Slots onto other online products offered by iGaming operators, aiming to make games fairer for players and improve their understanding of gameplay. 

These rules ban: 

  • Features that speed up the time it takes for a result to be shown or that give the impression of control over the result (such as turbos or slam stops) 
  • Autoplay 
  • Any audio or visual celebrations of a return either less than or equal to the initial stake 
  • Spin speeds of less than five seconds 
  • Platform functionality that facilitates playing multiple products simultaneously 

Naturally, these changes call for adjustments in the design of many games and products in order to comply. The removal of the autoplay feature is a particularly notable one, aiming to put a greater emphasis on the break between individual rounds or between games. 

Of course, Slots are the category of games that will see the greatest impact from these types of changes. But this will also alter the way future online casino games are built as developers adapt to the new rules. 

As well as reducing the visual intensity of remote games, future planned changes will also require operators to display players’ net spend and time spent in the game in real-time. 

Direct marketing improvements 

Outside of game design, the Gambling Commission’s changes have also targeted the way that iGaming businesses market to their customers. 

Also in effect from January 17, operators are now required to provide their players with options to opt-in to the products that they are interested in receiving marketing for. This opt-in also applies to which channels they want that to come through. 

While this limits the degree to which operators can market their products, it gives customers a greater level of control over what marketing they receive. In effect, players will only receive direct marketing related to the things they are interested in and be off the list for anything they don’t care to hear about. 

The requirement does only apply to online gambling, but of course a significant portion of marketing is directed at those online customers. 

With a more limited pool of opted-in individuals, it is more important than ever to make sure that the quality of all marketing material is kept as high as possible. 

Frictionless financial risk assessments 

By far the biggest and most controversial element of the Gambling Commission’s proposal, the frictionless financial risk assessments are still in a trial period.  

Implementing checks in a way that’s both truly frictionless but also doesn’t open up individuals to any potential data privacy violations is a significant challenge. 

Frictionless checks are not being rolled out in a live environment, with their future potential implementation resting on the outcome of the trial and its feasibility. 

Still, that hasn’t stopped the prospect of them from alienating some customers. While these checks are intended as a player protection mechanism – preventing them from losing more than they can afford – they could still prove a major deterrent to certain players in the future. 

The light touch financial risk checks already implemented have certainly shown signs of having a cooling effect on the wider betting market. When the second stage of those checks comes into play at the end of February, this could worsen the trend, reducing both player engagement and spend in certain areas. 

As this second step will require checks to be carried out on customers with a net deposit of more than £150 a month – a lot lower than the current threshold of £500 – operators should brace for another drop. 

 

It’s still relatively early days for a lot of these new measures, so it’s hard to say how their full impact will play out. The outcome of the frictionless financial risk assessments pilot is also still to be determined, keeping that in the realm of future possibilities. 

But, by staying properly informed and up to date, operators can take the proactive steps needed to minimise any negative impacts from these and any future changes. 

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