In this article, we’ll look at some of the new online gambling regulations for 2025. We’ll discuss how they help to protect online gamblers in the UK.
These regulations only apply to online casinos licensed in the United Kingdom. However, since the United Kingdom is one of the largest online gambling markets and where a lot of game developers are based, there is a strong chance that we will see some of these changes enacted worldwide.
It is also worth noting that many of these changes are preliminary. They are still subject to change and could become slightly more stringent, or relaxed, depending on how everything plays out. We are going to start by looking at some of the changes that happened at the tail end of 2024, just in case you were unaware of them.
Changes in Late 2024
Since the UK is one of the top gambling jurisdictions, websites like CasinoMeister have always kept tabs on what the country is doing as the changes here are often rolled out to other online casinos. Despite the restrictions highlighted on this page, the UK has some of the most relaxed gambling legislation in the world. This does look set to change, though.
In late 2024, one of the biggest changes to happen with online casinos in the UK was rolled out. There is now a maximum stake limit in place for online slot games. Players over the age of 25 can spend a maximum of £5 per spin, while players between 18 and 24 can spend a maximum of £2. The whole idea is to strictly limit how much cash can be lost on slot machines and to ensure people are not blowing through their bankroll very quickly. Gone are the days when online casino players could spend hundreds of quid in a matter of minutes.
The reason that we want to highlight this change is because it will impact everything that happens in 2025. It marks the point where the UK starts to tighten up everything that it does.
January 2025
On the 17th of January 2025, the way that online casinos market to their existing players will change. From this point onwards, any direct marketing needs to be opt-in, so players must choose to receive advertising from online casinos. They can also restrict the type of advertising they receive.
In our opinion, this is a much-needed change. Plenty of problem gamblers have stated that they have been pulled back into online gambling due to the marketing they’ve received, either through SMS or email.
The hope is that by toning down and limiting the marketing, people will be less inclined to gamble.
If you live in the UK, when January rolls around, expect online casinos to ask you to opt-in to marketing from them. If you do not opt in, then there is a chance that you won’t receive any sort of marketing from them again, which may be a good thing in some cases.
Game Design Changes
Some of the biggest changes to the way games are played at online casinos will involve the way the games are designed. All these changes will come into force on 17th of January 2025. We expect a lot of these changes to roll out around the world, especially in games produced by British casino game developers. Otherwise, there will be multiple versions of online casino games, and nobody wants that. We think that many of these changes will help combat problem gambling, so we wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up being used in multiple gambling jurisdictions anyway.
These changes are preliminary, and the UKGC will evaluate what works before settling on something more permanent.
For starters, all non-slot games need to have a minimum spin speed of five seconds, so players won’t be able to gamble every second or so. The game pace needs to slow down to at least five seconds between bets. You may think that this is too little, but five seconds in the world of online gambling can seem like a lifetime.
In addition, all autoplay features will need to be removed from casino games. This includes slot machines. If you wish to place a bet, then you need to physically click a button to place that bet. Most people will probably find this impacts their slot machine play a lot since so many people use autoplay to avoid the tedious clicking. This change is intended to reduce the number of bets people place, which should eradicate a good amount of problem gambling.
Next up, online casinos can no longer allow people to play multiple games simultaneously. As a result, you will no longer be able to have multiple slots open at once. You need to commit yourself to one game. This serves two purposes. Firstly, it limits the speed at which people can gamble. This limits the amount of money being spent, and being lost. Secondly, it means that people can focus on just one game at a time. This should lead to better-informed decisions about gambling.
All online casinos must also display the net spend, essentially the profit/loss for the player, and the time they’ve spent gambling. This must be displayed prominently.
All features that allow players to speed up how fast game results are displayed will also be banned.
Finally, in February 2025, financial vulnerability checks will also be carried out on anybody depositing more than £150 in 30 days. This is a big change from summer 2024 when the rules applied to more than £500 in 30 days. There is a good chance that the UKGC will continue to adjust this figure until they’re able to settle on something that works.
Will these Changes Work to Limit Gambling?
The 2025 changes in the UK are massive, which to many could make gambling laws as complicated as the rules of cricket. This might be one of the biggest gambling shake-ups in a while. The big question is — will it work? We think it will.
It won’t be able to eliminate all forms of problem gambling, the only way to do that is to completely ban gambling, and nobody wants that. However, these changes may help British gamblers to make better decisions when playing online slot machines and other casino games, which should limit their losses a little bit. Expect even bigger changes in 2026.