UK Gambling Act review timeline

The UK Gambling Act review timeline at a glance

The Gambling Act 2005 was written before smartphones and before online casinos became a mass-market product. By 2020 the government accepted that it needed a fresh look, and on 8 December that year it launched a formal review. A 16-week call for evidence followed, asking 45 questions across six themes. The answer came two years later in a white paper, and the changes it promised have been arriving in stages ever since.

One point surprises many readers: the review did not produce a new Gambling Act. The 2005 Act is still the law in Great Britain. The reforms have been made through regulations under the Act, Gambling Commission licence conditions and technical standards, and tax changes. That is why the timeline below lists so many separate start dates.

Before the review: how the 2005 Act took shape

The Gambling Act 2005 came fully into force on 1 September 2007, creating the Gambling Commission’s licensing system for Great Britain. Two later milestones set the stage for the review. From 1 November 2014, operators based abroad needed a Commission licence to serve British customers, which brought most online casinos under UK rules. And in April 2019 the maximum stake on B2 gaming machines in betting shops was cut from £100 to £2, showing the government was willing to set stake limits.

Online protections were tightened in the meantime without new primary law: age checks before play from 7 May 2019, the credit card ban from 14 April 2020, mandatory GAMSTOP participation from 31 March 2020 and VIP rules from 31 October 2020. Our bonus rules timeline covers those earlier dates with a bonus focus.

Phase one: the review and call for evidence, 2020 to 2021

The call for evidence opened on 8 December 2020 and closed on 31 March 2021. Its six themes were online protections for players and products, advertising and sponsorship, the Gambling Commission’s powers and resources, consumer redress, age limits and verification, and land-based gambling. Bonuses came in under advertising: the review asked about the impact of promotional offers such as free spins, whether inside VIP schemes or separate from them.

Questions about product design and account controls fed into the later work on stake limits and game design, while the redress theme led to the idea of an ombudsman. The gambling white paper page summarises how each theme was answered.

Phase two: the 2023 white paper

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport published High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age (opens in a new tab) on 27 April 2023. It proposed consulting on a stake limit for online slots of between £2 and £15 per spin, with £2 or £4 for 18 to 24-year-olds; a statutory levy to fund research, prevention and treatment; financial risk checks; and an ombudsman. For bonuses it promised fair limits on re-wagering requirements.

Responsibility for the follow-up was split. The government consulted on matters needing regulations, such as stake limits and the levy, while the Gambling Commission consulted on changes to its own licence conditions and technical standards, including bonus design, game speed and direct marketing.

Full Gambling Act review timeline, 2020 to 2027

The tax changes were announced in the Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025 and are not part of the white paper itself, but they reshape the same market. See remote gaming duty and the statutory levy for details.

What the review delivered, and what is still pending

The Commission has said that “affordability check” is an inaccurate label and that it has no plans for affordability checks; the assessments it piloted used credit-reference data on a small share of high spenders. Our page on financial vulnerability checks explains the rule that is actually live.

How the review changed casino bonuses: worked maths

Two reforms combine to shape a deposit bonus today: the 10x cap and the slot stake limits. Together they set both the total you must stake and the fastest rate at which you can stake it. Take a £50 bonus at the maximum 10x, so £500 of wagering on slots.

The average cost is the same in every row because it depends on the total staked, not the stake size; what changes is how long the play lasts. Before 2026, the same £50 at 35x needed £1,750 of stakes and cost about £70 on average, more than the bonus. Any one session can do much better or much worse than these averages. See online slot stake limits and how to calculate wagering requirements.

A bonus can set a lower max bet than the legal limit, never a higher one. Casumo’s welcome terms, for example, cap bets at £5 while a bonus is active.

What the Gambling Act review did not change

• The territorial reach. The Gambling Act 2005 and Commission licence conditions cover Great Britain. Northern Ireland has separate law and no full online framework. See Northern Ireland gambling law.
• Tax on winnings. Players still don’t pay tax on gambling winnings; duty is paid by operators. See gambling winnings tax.
• The house edge. No reform changes the odds of a game; RTP and house edge are set by the game and must be available before you play.
• Consumer law. Unfair terms and unfair trading rules sit in general consumer law, which moved separately to the DMCC Act 2024 in April 2025.

How to keep track of future rule changes

The review’s remaining items, and any new ones, will arrive the same way as the others: as government announcements, Commission consultations and dated rule changes. A simple routine keeps you up to date.

1. Check the Gambling Commission’s news page for consultation responses and start dates.
2. Read the significant terms of any new offer against the current rules, especially wagering and max bet.
3. Review your deposit limit when prompted; operators must remind you periodically.
4. Look at our UK casino bonus rules hub, where each rule has its own dated page.
5. If you are unsure whether an offer meets the current rules, ask the operator in writing before opting in.

The Commission’s news release gambling promotions to be safer and simpler (opens in a new tab) is a good example of how a rule is announced well ahead of its start date.

Where the stake limit rules are set out

The stake limits are one of the few white paper reforms made by regulations rather than Commission codes. They are a condition attached to every remote casino licence, and the Commission’s online slots stake limit guidance (opens in a new tab) explains how they apply. A limit covers a whole game cycle, from the start of a game until all stakes are lost or winnings delivered, so extra stakes within a cycle count towards it. Other casino games, such as roulette and blackjack, are not covered.

The government’s statutory gambling levy (opens in a new tab) page sets out the other big money reform: 1.1% for online operators, split between research (20%), prevention (30%) and treatment (50%). Our can under-25s claim bonuses page looks at how the £2 limit affects younger players.

Partner offers under the post-review rules

The three partner offers below pay no-wagering spins, so the 10x cap doesn’t come into play, and the spins are a fixed 10p each, well inside both stake limits. All are for new customers aged 18 and over, and terms apply.

• Coral Casino: bet £10 on slots after depositing to get 100 free spins (£10 of spins) on selected games; accept within 48 hours; valid 7 days; no wagering on winnings. Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, prepaid cards and certain debit cards don’t qualify.
• Ladbrokes Casino: deposit and spend £10 on slots to get 50 free spins a day for 10 days, up to 500 (up to £50 of spins); claim by 23:59 each day; valid 7 days; no wagering. PayPal, Paysafe, Neteller, Skrill, Moneybookers and prepaid card deposits are excluded. See Ladbrokes free spins.
• PlayOJO: 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza (£8 of spins) on a first deposit of at least £10; winnings paid in cash with no wagering; not available in Northern Ireland.

Coral and Ladbrokes share an operator, LC International Limited, so check the terms before trying to join 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.