UK direct marketing rules for casinos

What the UK direct marketing rules say

Direct marketing is any promotion sent to you personally: emails about a reload bonus, texts about free spins, or calls about a new game. In Great Britain, the main gambling-specific rule is LCCP 5.1.12 on direct marketing preferences (opens in a new tab). It says licensees must give customers options to opt in to direct marketing “on a per product and per channel basis”, set to opt-out by default, offered at registration and changeable at any time.

The rule sits alongside general data protection and electronic marketing law, which the Information Commissioner’s Office enforces, and the advertising codes that control what any promotion may say. This page focuses on the gambling rules. It is part of our UK casino bonus rules section, and our separate page on marketing consent rules looks at consent from the sign-up screen onwards.

Per-product and per-channel opt-in explained

The code fixes two sets of choices. Operators must offer each one “as applicable”, so a casino-only brand doesn’t need a betting box, and a brand that never phones customers doesn’t need a phone option.

Operators must also make clear which of their products fall into each category. If a site sells slots, live casino and bingo, you should be able to tell whether a bingo opt-in covers its Slingo games, for example. Post was considered as a channel during consultation but dropped, and land-based gambling and lotteries are outside the rule for now.

The one-click confirmation step

An operator may add a step asking you to confirm your choices, but only to accept or decline them in one click. The code says there must be “no encouragement or option to change selection” at that point, which stops a screen nudging you to tick more boxes.

What changed for existing customers on 1 May 2025

The rule covers people who already had accounts. Existing customers who had not opted out must be asked at their first log-in after the rule started to confirm their preferences. An operator can carry over preferences it already held only if they match the per-product, per-channel format.

The start date was originally 17 January 2025 and moved to 1 May 2025. From then, an operator must not send direct marketing that contradicts the product or channel you chose. If you opted in to casino emails only, you should not receive betting texts from that operator.

When bonus marketing must stop even if you opted in

Opting in is not the end of the story. Two other rules override your marketing choices:

• Strong indicators of harm: under the customer interaction rules, since 12 February 2023 operators must prevent marketing and new bonus take-up where their processes find strong indicators of harm. The bonuses and harm indicators page explains how this works.
• Self-exclusion: operators must take part in GAMSTOP and, under LCCP 3.5.3, remove self-excluded customers from marketing within two days. The GAMSTOP rules page covers the full set of duties.

If you still receive offers after self-excluding, report it to the operator in writing and keep copies. It is a serious breach.

What a marketing email or text is allowed to say

Consent decides whether a message can be sent. Separate rules decide what it may contain:

• Significant conditions: LCCP 5.1.9 (opens in a new tab) requires all significant conditions of an incentive to be stated transparently and prominently. Where space is limited, as in a text, the message must say conditions apply, include as many as possible and put the full terms no more than one click away. See significant conditions in ads.
• “Free” claims: CAP guidance says an offer shouldn’t be called free if you must risk your own money to qualify, unless the condition is made clear. Examples are collected under “free” in gambling ads.
• Social responsibility: under CAP Code section 16 (opens in a new tab), messages must not have strong appeal to under-18s, link gambling to success, or encourage chasing losses.
• One product per incentive: since 19 January 2026, the mixed-product promotion ban means an email can’t offer casino spins for placing a sports bet.

A worked example of direct marketing preferences

Sam opens an account at a site that sells betting, casino and bingo. At registration, all six boxes are unticked. Sam ticks casino and email only. Here is what the rules mean for the messages Sam may receive from that operator:

The 50% match in the first row would give Sam a £10 bonus on a £20 deposit and £100 of wagering. At a 4% house edge that wagering costs about £4 on average, so the expected leftover bonus is around £6; a single session can do much better or much worse.

How to opt out of casino bonus marketing

1. Log in and open your account’s marketing or communication preferences; untick the products and channels you don’t want.
2. For texts, follow the opt-out instruction in the message, usually replying STOP.
3. For emails, use the unsubscribe link, or contact the operator and ask it to stop.
4. Forward spam texts from senders you don’t recognise to 7726 so your network can look at blocking them.
5. If marketing continues after you opted out, keep the messages and report them to the ICO, as the Commission’s guidance on stopping marketing texts and emails (opens in a new tab) explains.

For a fuller walkthrough see our guide on how to stop bonus emails. If you want to stay on the mailing list but stop receiving bonuses, the guide on opting out of bonuses covers account-level bonus settings.

Direct marketing by affiliates and partners

Casinos often market through affiliates, and our affiliate marketing rules page explains how responsibility for that third-party marketing is shared. An affiliate site like this one doesn’t hold your casino account preferences, so opting out with the operator won’t stop an affiliate’s own newsletter; you’d need to unsubscribe from that separately.

Licensees must also follow the advertising codes as a licence condition under LCCP 5.1.6, so an ASA ruling against a marketing email can become a Commission issue.

What the direct marketing rules don’t cover

• Ads you see on TV, social media or websites that are not sent to you personally; those follow the CAP and BCAP codes.
• In-account promotions pages and banners you choose to visit, though bonus take-up must still stop for customers with strong harm indicators.
• Land-based gambling and lotteries, which were left out of LCCP 5.1.12 for now.
• Post, which was dropped from the channel list.
• Northern Ireland, where the Commission’s licence conditions don’t apply.

UK direct marketing rules timeline

Partner welcome offers and your marketing choices

Welcome offers and marketing preferences are separate choices. The key terms summarised below don’t list a marketing opt-in as a condition, but read the full terms at sign-up. All offers are 18+ and for new customers.

• Coral: deposit (certain types excluded) and bet £10 on slots to get 100 free spins at 10p (£10 of spins) on selected games; accept within 48 hours, valid 7 days, no wagering on winnings. Runs 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027.
• Ladbrokes: deposit and play £10 on slots for 50 free spins a day for 10 days (up to 500 at 10p, up to £50 of spins); claim by 23:59 daily, valid 7 days, no wagering. Prepaid cards, PayPal, Paysafe, Neteller, Skrill and Moneybookers deposits don’t qualify.
• PlayOJO: 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p (£8 of spins) with a first deposit of £10 or more; no wagering, winnings paid in cash. Excludes Northern Ireland.

After the welcome offer, ongoing deals for existing customers usually reach you through the promotions page or the channels you opted in to. You can enjoy the first without agreeing to the second. Coral and Ladbrokes share an operator, so check the terms before opening both.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Decide a budget before you play: set a budget. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.