Gambling Commission Introduces New Rules to Ban Bonus Cross-Selling

The British Gambling Commission has announced new rules for gambling promotions in Britain, which will come into force later this year. From December 19, licensed gambling operators will no longer be allowed to offer bonuses or other incentives that combine different types of gambling products. There will also be a cap on bonus requirements.

The regulator states that the new rules are intended to prevent harmful marketing and to make the terms and conditions of bonus offers easier to understand for customers. It will revise the wording in its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) to provide more clarity. The ban on so-called ‘bonus mixing’ means that operators will no longer be able to offer promotions that combine casino, bingo, sports, or lottery products. For example, promotions that require a customer to place both a sports bet and play a slot game to qualify for a bonus will be prohibited.

This ban specifically affects incentives that require the use of diffecrossrent product types to qualify. Operators will still be allowed to combine incentives within the same vertical and will continue to be able to offer general credit-based offers. The regulator received feedback suggesting that cross-selling via bonus offers can confuse customers and lead them to use higher-risk products. A report found a higher risk of harm when customers gamble across multiple products.

In the consultation process, 50 percent of respondents expressed support for the ban, primarily from charities, academics, and public health advocates. However, many licensees opposed the ban, arguing that customers should be allowed to exercise free will and that such a ban would harm business flexibility and product variety.

In addition to the ban on bonus mixing, a new cap on bonus requirements will limit online bonus wagering requirements to 10 times the bonus amount. For instance, a £10 bonus offer cannot require a customer to place more than £100 in bets before any winnings can be withdrawn. The Gambling Commission stated that this aim was to prevent excessive or misleading conditions that force players to gamble more than they planned. It argued that high thresholds made it difficult to comprehend conditions and could lead to faster, riskier gaming patterns.

In the consultation, just over half of the respondents supported the cap, while slightly fewer wanted a complete ban on wagering requirements for bonuses. Consumer advocates have argued that even low wagering requirements are harmful and confusing, potentially tricking players into gambling longer than they intended. However, many licensees contended that some requirements were necessary to prevent bonus fraud and abuse via automated systems, with some suggesting that a limit of 10 times the bonus was the only commercially viable option. The Gambling Commission plans to reword the Rewards and Bonuses section of its LCCP document to provide clarity on the new rules.

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Tim Miller, executive director for research and policy, commented: “These changes will better protect consumers from gambling harm and give consumers much better clarity on, and certainty of, offers before they decide to sign up. The Commission will apply changes to promotions terms to end problematic practices which it views have eroded trust with licensees.”

The Gambling Commission will introduce new rules regarding direct marketing starting in May. Customers will be required to opt in to receive marketing communications by product and channel. The introduction of these rules had been delayed from January 17 due to operators expressing concerns about unclear wording.

The original update regarding the Social Responsibility Code section 5.1.12 in the LCCP suggested that operators might have to deny services to players who had already opted in until they set their marketing preferences. Operators also sought clarification on whether they could transfer existing customer preferences. The regulator has confirmed that existing customer preferences can be transferred, but only after a player has opted in to direct marketing for specific products and channels. Players will need the opportunity to update their preferences when they log in starting May 1.