The UK Gambling Commission has announced new regulations for high-volume and high-stakes online sports bettors, meant as a way to curb problem gambling.
Wagering more than £1,000 ($1,336) in a 24-hour period would trigger a financial risk assessment by credit agencies, the commission announced this week. The regulations would also apply to anyone spending more than £3,000 ($4,009) over a 90-day period. Regulators will eventually enforce lower amounts for gamblers under age 25.
The Labour Party assumed power in the UK parliament in 2024. Thus, the public expected changes to the country’s gambling laws. That now appears to be taking shape, but the new rules have received pushback from the industry.
The Betting and Gaming Council trade group announced that operators were “disappointed and frustrated” with the new regulations. According to the BBC, the group said the changes would move many players to unregulated gaming platforms.
Regulators Will Slowly Implement New Rules
The commission said it would enact changes in a “very careful, staged way.” They hope the financial assessments will help discern if a gambler is experiencing financial difficulties as a result of their wagering activities.
The plan will start with those over 25 who wager more than £5,000 ($6,677) over a rolling 24-hour time frame. The Gambling Commission estimates this initial stage would apply to less than 0.5% of customers and will begin in the next few weeks following feedback from the industry.
The threshold would eventually be lowered to £1,000 in 24 hours for all customers and £750 ($1,000) for under-25 gamblers.
The commission noted that high-stakes bettors were between two and four times more likely to be in a debt management program. Additionally, these bettors are between two and five times more likely to have seen a default in the previous year compared to average consumers.
The regulations will only apply to the largest gaming companies at the time of rollout. The Gambling Commission said the credit checks wouldn’t affect users’ credit scores and wouldn’t be “affordability checks.”
Betting and Gaming Council CEO Grainne Hurst said there were too many unknowns about the risk assessment. She said there wasn’t enough information available to determine if the checks were even needed.
“The central issues around reliability, consumer impact, and the practical operation of these checks remain unresolved,” she said.
Driving Big Bettors Offshore?
The new rules could potentially drive high-stakes bettors to offshore, unregulated platforms. While this would affect a small percentage of bettors, the “whales” may look for other ways to bet, affecting gambling companies’ volume and revenue.
“Sportsbooks make almost all their money from just 2-3% of customers,” professional sports bettor and entrepreneur Joe Pompliano recently noted. “These “whales” lose so much that they account for more than 50% of a sportsbook’s annual revenue and profit.”
Some bettors may also resort to using others to make bets for them – known as “beards.” High-stakes sports bettor and former Dallas Mavericks Director of Quantitative Research and Development Haralabos Voulgaris has noted that he used beards in the past for high-stakes betting, including boxer Floyd Mayweather, to avoid being detected as a regular high-stakes bettor.
Differences From U.S. Gaming Landscape
Financial assessments would be something new for American gamblers. In the UK, gambling is regulated by the federal government, while states oversee gaming in the U.S.
Financial checks may not be part of the American landscape and could potentially create constitutional issues. Several states have moved toward a tighter control on the gaming industry in recent years.
Some experts have become concerned about a growing number of problem gamblers, including among college-age men. A recent study by 5W Research found that the American gaming industry spent $520 million on celebrity and athlete partnerships in 2025 and just $60 million on responsible gaming messages.
In Colorado, legislators have considered a bill that would ban some forms of sportsbook marketing, bar users from using credit cards to fund accounts, and limit the number of deposits a bettor can make in a single day.
New York regulators have also pushed for banning the use of artificial intelligence to track customers and prohibiting personalized promotions. AI would still be allowed to track signs of problem gambling, and the proposal would include other measures meant to address problem gambling.
