Recently, there have been changes to deposit limits, advertising, and marketing in the sports betting industry that all players should be aware of. They’re likely to affect players at every step of the sports betting process, from payments to advertisements. As an expert in sports betting, and with over eight years working in the industry, I know how big the impacts of regulatory change can be. In this article, I’ll share my insights, so you know exactly what the changes mean for you.
Making Deposit Limits Mandatory
Deposit limits are a responsible gambling tool used by many sports betting operators. They help players remain in control of their behaviour by limiting how much they can deposit over a certain time frame. For example, I could set a limit of £10 a month. When I hit this maximum, I won’t be able to deposit any further funds.
At the moment, these limits operate on an opt-in basis. This means that only players who go to the effort of setting them are subject to deposit limits. However, from the 31st of October 2025, they’ll become opt-out. This means that all players will have to set a mandatory deposit limit when they set up their account.
I’m a big fan of this change. It will mean more players are making the most of this helpful tool to control their gambling behaviour. Deposit limits also help prevent some of the high-risk behaviour associated with problem gambling, such as overspending and chasing losses. Rather than allowing players to fall into these habits, this limit prevents them from committing more funds than they can afford.
There are a few additional things I want to highlight with this change. Operators will be required to remind players of their deposit more frequently and display it on the homepage. As a player, it means you’ll be receiving more notifications to help you track your spending. Every six months, you’ll be contacted and asked to review your transaction history and confirm you’re happy with your deposit limit. It may also mean that it will be easier to locate responsible gambling resources.
Reducing Gambling Ad Exposure for Vulnerable Players
For a while now, the UK has been behind other regions when it comes to getting on top of gambling advertisements. Research completed in September 2024 found that football fans were bombarded with gambling ads during the opening weekend of the Premier League. There were nearly 30,000 gambling messages over the period, a staggering increase of 165% from the previous year. These numbers continue to increase, despite 67% of the public backing tighter regulations on television gambling ads.
In recent years, we’ve seen gambling adverts that use public figures, like football players, being banned. There’s little doubt that these ads appeal disproportionately to underage groups, putting them at risk. We also saw the introduction of the whistle-to-whistle ban for gambling ads in 2019. This change stopped gambling ads from five minutes before to five minutes after the game. Despite some progress, the numbers and concerns voiced by experts like myself have made it clear that these don’t go far enough.
Finally, it seems there are some changes on the horizon aimed at bringing the number of gambling messages on our TVs under control. From the 2026/7 Premier League season, gambling companies won’t be able to advertise on teams’ shirts. This change was a result of a voluntary agreement from clubs made in 2023. As things stand, eight Premier League sides will be affected, representing a value of £60 million a year.
I think this is certainly a step in the right direction. It will help to reduce the exposure of gambling advertisements to vulnerable and underage groups. There have long been concerns about how advertising through football clubs normalises gambling.
However, it’s disappointing to see that the ban doesn’t extend to shirt sleeves. While this change will go some way to reducing the number of sports betting advertisements players see, a full ban would be more effective.
Changing Marketing Preferences to Opt-in
There have been some major changes to how gambling marketing works. As recently as the past few months, if I was creating an account with a provider, I would automatically be added to their marketing database. Whenever I opened up my emails, I’d likely see an ad from the gambling provider offering enticing odds on an upcoming match.
If I wanted to stop receiving marketing materials from a provider, it would be a frustratingly complicated process. I’d either have to go in through my account to alter my preferences or block the provider through my email. Just like deposit limits, this was an opt-out method.
In the last few months, this process has also been reversed to opt-in. The change had been delayed from the 17th of January 2025 to the 1st of May 2025. Now, players aren’t automatically added to any marketing databases when they sign up for an account at a provider. Should they wish to receive offers straight to their inbox, they’ll now have to change their preferences to opt-in.
Once again, I wholeheartedly support this change. It will help make it easier for players to reduce the number of betting ads they see. In my opinion, the previous process was flawed. Having vulnerable players have to go back onto a betting site just to stop seeing ads didn’t work. The new method will hopefully help to reduce these vulnerable groups' exposure to gambling advertisements by making the process much simpler.
What Other Changes Would I Like to See in the Future?
I think many of these changes are a great start in helping to bring down the number of problem gamblers in the UK. However, there are a few additional things I’d like to see in the future to continue progress.
Tackling Gambling Ads on Social Media
Firstly, these changes don’t go far enough when it comes to marketing and advertising in the online world. In particular, there’s been no effort to limit ads on social media.
In a 2024 survey of young people completed by the UK Gambling Commission, it was found 49% had seen an advertisement for gambling on social media. These shocking numbers are despite provisions on popular social media platforms, like Instagram and TikTok, to prevent gambling ads from being seen by underage users.
I would like to see upcoming changes to regulations take aim at tackling this problem. There needs to be a stricter process for determining underage users and blocking them from seeing gambling ads. For example, this could be through an age verification process, where users have to upload a form of ID.
Alternatively, it could go the way of marketing and become opt-in. It would be great to see gambling advertisements completely limited to those who want to see them. This would help greatly in reducing the exposure of underage people and vulnerable users to them.
Ending Sponsorships in Sports
I would like to see the ban on gambling advertisements on players’ shirts in the Premier League go further. It was disappointing to see that while clubs will be prohibited from advertising a gambling company on the front of their shirt, they can continue to do so on shirt sleeves. To me, this makes little sense. For the ban to be at all effective, it should apply to the whole shirt.
It would also be great to see some other popular UK sports follow the same path. While it’s less common to see gambling companies advertised on cricketing whites or rugby kits, an overall ban would send a strong message. It’s essential to reduce the exposure of at-risk groups to these ads, as well as bring down the number of gambling messages in our favourite sports overall.
So, How Will Players be Impacted?
Players can expect to see the effects of recent and upcoming changes to sports betting in the next few months. They may be asked to set a mandatory deposit limit or review their existing ones. While they could see more reminders about responsible gambling, it’s likely players will experience a reduction in gambling advertisements in their inbox. Alongside this, we’ll see fewer gambling messages in football from 2026.
Although I think these changes are an excellent move in the right direction, I would welcome them going further in the future. Overall, players can expect a reduction in the frequency of gambling ads they see, and an emphasis on responsible gambling tools like deposit limits, in the next few years.
Siobhan Aslett is an expert in sports betting, with over eight years of experience. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in sports nutrition from the University of Exeter. As a player and fan herself, Siobhan’s wealth of knowledge has made her one of the leading sports betting experts. In her spare time, she makes sure to keep up to date with all the latest developments in the industry
