Gamblers who spend more than £1,000 online in a 24-hour period will have to undergo a financial risk assessment, the industry regulator has announced.
The Gambling Commission said it would apply to anyone spending more than £3,000 in a 90-day period. Under-25 limits will be reduced.
The assessments will be based on data held by credit reference agencies, but the Commission has stressed that they are not a “soundness check”.
The Betting and Gaming Council, which represents gambling firms, said it was “disappointed and disappointed” by the changes, which it said could push customers towards the black market.
The commission has not set any timeline for the changes and said they will be introduced “very carefully, in a phased manner”.
It said there was evidence that some customers who overspent were experiencing financial difficulties, but were not being identified or supported by bookmakers.
The investigation will begin with people over the age of 25 who gamble more than £5,000 in a 24-hour period. Initially, they will only apply to the largest gambling companies.
The watchdog said the first phase will impact less than 0.5% of customers and will be implemented this summer, following engagement with industry and other stakeholders.
The limit will eventually be reduced to £1,000 in 24 hours, or £750 for those under 25.
In 2023, a white paper on gambling recommended increased scrutiny on customers who suffer very high losses.
On Tuesday, the commission said high-spending gamblers were two to four times more likely to have a debt management plan, and two to five times more likely to have defaulted in the past 12 months than consumers in the broader population.
Sarah Gardner, acting chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said most customers would never need an assessment.
Those who do so will be provided with a frictionless, document-free assessment by credit reference agencies that will have no impact on their credit score.
He said the Commission believes this approach will “enable support for high-spending customers in financial difficulties, while reducing friction for customers who are not”.
The Commission has stressed that evaluations are not the same as competency tests, which Gardner described as “extremely unpopular” with jurors.
He said stakeholders had expressed concerns that more regulation could push problem gamblers into the black market.
The Gambling Survey for Great Britain found that in 2024, 9.3% of adult gamblers had a score of eight or higher on the Problem Gambling Severity Index, which goes up to 27.
A score of eight or more means that a person has “lost control of their behavior” and has experienced adverse consequences of gambling.
The commission said it is still looking at failures in enforcement, and recently found the case of a customer who deposited £25,000 in 25 days before it was negotiated.
Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross said the assessment must work for “consumers, gambling operators and the wider ecosystem”.
But the Betting and Gaming Council said it was “extremely disappointed and disappointed” that the Gambling Commission was supporting the risk assessment “despite the significant concerns raised by the BGC, operators, racing, MPs and customers over the past 18 months”.
Its chief executive, Grainne Hurst, said: “The central issues of credibility, consumer impact and practical operation of these investigations remain unresolved.”
He said the Gambling Commission had not provided enough “accurate, reliable or consistent” data to support the investigation.
“We support evidence-based, proportionate regulation that protects vulnerable people, while allowing the 22.5 million adults in the UK who place bets every month to do so safely.
“But until the Commission can demonstrate that these checks are accurate, consistent and virtually frictionless, our fundamental concerns remain, including the risk of driving customers into a growing illegal gambling market.”
