The Gambling Commission has announced further changes to the remote gambling and software technical standards (“RTS”) aiming to improve the gambling management tools available to consumers. From 30 June 2026, all online operators must provide customers with the opportunity to set a ‘deposit limit’ which is based solely on the amount a customer pays into their account over a set duration.  

Background

Following the Autumn 2023 consultation, the Gambling Commission announced changes to take effect on 31 October 2025 to strengthen consumer protection in online gambling (“Initial Consultation”). Responses to the Initial Consultation identified inconsistencies with the way operators interpret ‘deposit limits’. The Gambling Commission launched a supplementary consultation in March 2025, setting out proposals for clarifying ‘deposit limits’, and other financial limits in the RTS.

Helen Rhodes, the Gambling Commission’s Director of Major Policy Projects, said in relation to the proposed changes to the RTS:

“Our work will help empower consumers to have greater awareness and control over their gambling. 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.”

Summary of the proposals and new requirements   

Proposal 1: Default ‘gross’ deposit limits must be offered to the customer

The proposal was to include a requirement that, as a minimum, ‘gross’ deposit limits must be offered to customers. The intention was to improve consistency across the industry and to simplify the landscape for consumers.

RTS requirement 12B:

1. As a minimum, the gambling system must offer gross deposit limits – where the amount a customer deposits into their account is limited over a particular duration.
2. Where more than one type of limit is made available in the gambling system, operators must ensure that ‘gross’ deposit limits are offered to customers with at least equal prominence to other limits.

The following requirements will also be added to RTS 12B, which provide further clarity:

Where a customer sets simultaneous time frames, for example a daily deposit limit and a weekly limit, the most restrictive must always apply. Therefore, if a daily deposit limit of £10 and a weekly limit of £100 are both set then the maximum the system must allow to be deposited is £10 per day and £70 per week.

The gambling system must prevent a customer from further depositing funds once a deposit limit is reached, until the defined period of the limit restarts or the customer takes action to increase the limit (subject to a standard 24 hour cooling off period).

Applies to: all gambling – except subscription lottery.

Proposal 2: The application of the term and definition of deposit limit

The intention of this proposal was to improve clarity for the consumer and consistency across the industry.

RTS requirement 12B: Only limits that meet this definition can be referred to as a deposit limit, and limits meeting this definition must be described to a customer as a deposit limit.

Applies to: all gambling – except subscription lottery.

Proposal 3: Wording of financial limits in the implementation guidance including the introduction of ‘net’ deposit limits  

The intention of this proposal was to provide increased consumer choice by amending the implementation guidance to allow for other types of limits should operators choose to make them available.

RTS implementation guidance 12B: In order to maximise consumer choice, operators could also offer:

1. stake limits: where the amount a customer stakes on gambling (or specific gambling products) is restricted for the period or duration of the limit applied; and/or
2. loss limits: the total value of stakes placed on gambling products minus the total value of any winnings or returns from those stakes is limited for the period or duration of the limit applied; and/or
3. net deposit limits: the amount deposited into the account minus any withdrawals made for the period/duration of the limit applied.

Applies to: all gambling – except subscription lottery.

The Gambling Commission has published the amended RTS 12 wording in full including both the changes coming into effect from 30 June 2026 and the changes to RTS that are in effect from 31 October 2025.

Next steps

The new RTS requirements come into force on 30 June 2026. Licensees must adhere to these requirements before this date.

Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about the new deposit limit rules.