New research published by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has shown that 4.31% of gambling accounts were restricted in some way in 2024. Of the restricted accounts, almost 62% were subject to a stake factor limit, the most common form of restriction used by UK operators.
Key Takeaways
- UK operators restricted 4.31% of accounts last year.
- Betting limits were by far the most prominent form of restriction in use.
- UKGC maintains that operators are entitled to “act in their commercial interests and manage liabilities,” but urges providers to “be transparent with customers.”
The UKGC requested data from the country’s largest online betting providers to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the commercial restrictions applied to players’ accounts over the previous year. The study included almost 15 million customer accounts, making it representative of the majority of the UK market.
Analysts found that stake factor limits were by far the most prevalent form of restriction placed on players during the period examined. The majority of operators also used account closures during this time. Over half (51.69%) of restricted accounts were closed for commercial reasons. A large proportion of these accounts would have been subject to bet limits before closure.
The study also showed that while some operators do not explicitly close accounts, they effectively make them unusable by applying a stake factor restriction of 0.00. Doing so means that affected players cannot place any bets. During the period analyzed, such restrictions were applied to 0.83% of active accounts and 19.15% of restricted accounts.
In some cases, operators opted to restrict players to specific markets, such as horse racing. This wasn’t found to be a widespread measure, with many operators reporting that they do not use such limits. But 5.72% of restricted accounts were limited in this way.
How do UK operators use stake limits?
Operators provided UKGC researchers with data on profit and loss for accounts placed under commercial restrictions. This enabled the UKGC to calculate that for all active accounts, 25.42% were in profit. By contrast, almost half (46.78%) of restricted accounts were in profit.
In terms of loss, 72.54% of active accounts lost money during the one-year period, while 51.29% of restricted accounts were in loss in the same period.
A maximum stake factor limit was the most commonly used form of restriction across UK operators. But these were applied in slightly different ways according to the operators in question.
The most prevalent limit set was 1-9% of the maximum stake. This was applied to 36.22% of restricted players. Almost a third (29.43%) of restricted players were limited at 10-49%. UK operators limited 22.41% of customers at 0-1%, and 7.5% of players faced 50-89% limits. Just 6.04% had a limit of 90-100% placed on their accounts.
UKGC urges operators to be transparent on account restrictions
The UKGC stated that its research “should not be seen as a change in our position regarding the role of regulation in determining how businesses manage their commercial liabilities.”
The regulator has, however, used the publication of the white paper as an opportunity to push for improvements in transparency amongst operators.
The management of commercial liabilities is something that sits outside of the UKGC’s regulatory remit, and as the regulator states, operators are “entitled to act in their commercial interests and manage liabilities.” However, the Gambling Commission continued to express its concerns that strict account restrictions could lead some players to visit illegal sites or encourage them to set up multiple accounts. This might also undermine the controls in place for player protection.
The UKGC has said that restrictions have “long been a source of contention between impacted consumers and gambling operators,” therefore, “if this is a feature of an operator’s business model, then it is something that they should inform consumers about.”
The Gambling Commission is now asking operators to "be transparent with customers, both at the start of the relationship and throughout, about how, when and why an account might be restricted, and ensure customers are aware of any restrictions prior to depositing funds or placing a bet.” However, with the regulator maintaining that the handling of commercial liabilities is not within its remit, it’s unlikely that any measures on transparency will be formally mandated anytime soon.
