Remote gambling operators in Britain must offer customers a gross deposit limit from Sept. 30 under revised Gambling Commission technical standards. Only a cap that limits the total amount deposited over a set period may be called a “deposit limit”, and it must be shown at least as prominently as any alternative spending controls.
The measure forms part of RTS 12, whose purpose is to give customers tools to set and maintain a gambling budget suitable for their circumstances. The standards require operators’ systems to stop further deposits when a customer reaches the selected cap, unless the limit period resets or the customer requests an increase.
Any increase must be initiated by the customer, confirmed through positive action and subject to a cooling-off period of at least 24 hours. Reductions must take effect immediately unless a technical or system failure prevents that. The revised rules also require a free-text field, or a telephone equivalent, through which customers can set a limit.
Gross deposit limits must use fixed time frames. Other financial limits may use either fixed or rolling periods, but operators may not hide or suppress the gross-deposit option to steer customers towards another control.
The rules apply at least at account level. Limit-setting facilities must be accessible from registration onwards and through a clearly visible direct link on an operator’s homepage. Customers must be presented with setting a limit as the default choice, rather than having to opt in, and active accounts must receive prompts to review account and transaction information at least every six months within a rolling 12-month period.
The Commission had originally set June 30 as the deadline for the second phase of the deposit-limit changes. It extended implementation to the end of September after stakeholder feedback that operators needed more time for technical development. It also instructed licensees to disregard offline copies of the RTS 12 annex saved before May 22, after identifying small errors in a version published with the October 2025 supplementary consultation response.
The Commission consulted on the definition of deposit limits in March 2025, with the supplementary exercise closing on April 30 that year. It said the resulting changes to RTS 12B’s requirements and guidance were intended to make limit-setting more effective and strengthen consumer control.
The standards sit alongside other online gambling product rules introduced in 2025, including a £5 maximum online-slot stake for adults and a £2 limit for players aged 18 to 24.
