The UK Gambling Commission has issued further guidance on how new restrictions on gambling incentives will work in practice, as the regulator prepares to enforce updated promotional rules in early 2026. The changes are aimed at stopping operators from designing offers that link or combine different gambling products within a single promotion.
The revised rules were first announced earlier in the year and are now supported by detailed explanations and examples intended to remove uncertainty for licensees. While the policy itself has not changed, the Commission has set out how it expects operators to interpret and apply the requirements across betting, casino, bingo, and lottery products.
January start date and scope of the changes
The updated Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice provisions will take effect from 19 January. They introduce a clear prohibition on incentives that involve more than one type of gambling product within the same offer, including situations where the qualifying activity and the reward fall under different product categories.
Promotions captured by the rules include sign-up bonuses, free bets, free spins, daily rewards, and similar schemes. The Commission has confirmed that the restriction applies regardless of whether a player is required to stake money or simply take part in a free activity to qualify for a reward.
Guidance published in December confirms that both elements of an incentive — the action a customer must take and the reward they receive — must relate to the same gambling category, unless the promotion gives customers unrestricted choice over how to use bonus funds.
How product mixing will be assessed
According to the regulator, an incentive remains acceptable when the qualifying activity and the reward stay within a single product type. For example, betting activity must lead to a betting-related reward, and casino play must result in casino-related benefits.
Offers that encourage customers to take part in one type of gambling in order to receive a reward tied to a different category will breach the new requirements. The Commission has made clear that this applies even when promotions appear to offer flexibility at first glance.
In cases where operators offer bonus money or credits, compliance depends on whether the customer has complete freedom to decide which product category to use. As the Commission explained:
“The important point to note is that the customer must have full freedom of choice in which product category (betting, bingo, casino, lottery) to use their credits or bonus money – it must not be restricted in any way by the operator.”
If an operator specifies the qualifying activity and also dictates how or where the reward can be used, the incentive will fail to meet the new standard.
Practical examples and free-to-play features
To illustrate the boundary between compliant and non-compliant offers, the Commission has published a range of examples. Promotions such as “Bet £5 and get £10 free bet” or “Spend £5 on casino products and get 20 free spins” meet the requirements because both the activity and the reward sit within the same product category.
By contrast, offers like “Bet £5 to get 20 free spins” or combined rewards that include both free bets and free spins within one promotion are not allowed. The regulator has also addressed incentives where customers can choose how to qualify but not how to redeem the reward, explaining that these structures still amount to product mixing.
The rules also extend to free-to-play games within gambling apps. Features that allow players to win rewards spanning multiple gambling categories will no longer be permitted. Senior policy manager Pradeep Rajania stated: “The provision applies irrespective of whether a stake on the product category is required or not in order to receive the reward. The prize gives an opportunity to win a range of mixed products which are stipulated by the operator which means this offer would be non-compliant.”
He added: “The important point to note is that the customer must have full freedom of choice in which product category to use their credits or bonus money – it must not be restricted in any way by the operator.”
The Commission has stressed that the examples provided are not exhaustive and that operators remain responsible for assessing whether their incentives comply with the updated rules before they come into force.
Source:
Socially responsible incentives: what operators need to know, gamblingcommission.gov.uk, 12. December 2025
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