Gambling white paper 2023: the app scorecard

What the gambling white paper 2023 is

A white paper is a government policy document that sets out plans before rules or laws are changed. This one, from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), was the result of a review of the Gambling Act 2005, the law that governs gambling in Great Britain.

The title gives away the focus: 'reform for the digital age'. The 2005 Act was written before smartphones changed how people gamble. The Commission's own surveys found that half of online gamblers had used a mobile phone in 2019, rising to 60% in 2021, so many of the proposals target apps directly.

You can read the full text on the government's High stakes publication page (opens in a new tab). Our UK rules for casino apps hub links every individual rule that came out of it.

How the white paper became rules in apps

Most of the white paper didn't need a new Act. The Gambling Commission can change the licence conditions and technical standards every operator must follow, and it used that power for most app-facing changes. Each went through a consultation, a published response and an in-force date.

Some measures needed government action instead, such as the statutory levy, which the government set out in its own publication. Because each route had its own consultation and lead-in time, changes arrived in stages from 2024 to 2026 rather than on one day.

Taxes on operators are a separate Treasury matter. The 2026 rise in remote gaming duty came from the Autumn Budget 2025, not the white paper.

Gambling white paper changes now live in UK casino apps

By October 2026, most of the white paper's online measures are in force. This table shows each one, its start date and what it looks like when you open a casino app.

Each row has its own page. Start with online slot stake limits, the 10x wagering cap and the mixed product bonus ban if bonuses matter most to you, or gambling marketing consent rules if you're tired of messages.

Spotting white paper rules when you join a casino app

You meet several reforms in the first few minutes of using a new app. In a typical UK sign-up, they appear in roughly this order, though the screens and wording are each operator's own.

1. Your age and identity are verified before you can deposit or play, including free demo games (a 2019 rule that predates the white paper).
2. Before the first deposit, the app prompts you to set a financial limit. You can choose a limit or decline, but the question has to be asked.
3. Marketing preferences let you pick which types of gambling, and which channels, you want to hear about.
4. When you open a slot, the maximum stake reflects your age band: £2 per spin if you're 18 to 24, £5 if you're 25 or over.
5. In-game, there's no autoplay button, and your net spend and time played are shown as you go.
6. Any welcome bonus you claim asks for wagering of no more than 10 times the bonus.

What the white paper rules mean in pounds

Two reforms are easiest to understand with numbers. The first is the slot stake limit combined with the 2.5-second minimum spin time that already applied. At most, a slot can run 1,440 spins an hour (3,600 seconds ÷ 2.5).

Expected loss is stake multiplied by the house edge, here 4% for a 96% RTP game. Real results swing either way in the short run, but over many spins the edge takes its share. The stake limits cap the top of that range; they don't make losses less likely. Lower stakes, like those in our low stakes casino apps list, cost far less per hour.

The second is the wagering cap. The Commission's own example: a £10 bonus with 50x wagering needed £500 of play before you could withdraw. At 10x, it's £100. On a 96% slot, wagering £100 has an expected cost of £4, against £20 for £500, which is why the cap makes bonuses fairer, though never free of cost.

White paper proposals that are not yet in force

Two headline online ideas haven't happened as of October 2026.

Financial risk assessments

The white paper proposed deeper checks on customers with higher spending, often called affordability checks. The Commission ran a pilot. In its April 2026 post-pilot update (opens in a new tab) it said 97% of assessments would have been frictionless and fewer than 3% of active accounts would trigger any operator steps. No decision has been made, and the checks are not live. See our page on financial risk checks.

A gambling ombudsman

There's no gambling ombudsman. Instead, alternative dispute resolution is moving towards providers accredited under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Our complaints and ADR rules page explains how to escalate a dispute today.

Land-based and advertising parts of the white paper

Not everything in the white paper touches your phone. Several proposals were aimed at venues and sport.

• Up to 80 gaming machines in eligible casinos.
• Sports betting allowed in all casinos.
• A 50/50 ratio of machine types in bingo halls and arcades.
• On advertising, the Premier League agreed to remove front-of-shirt gambling logos from the 2026/27 season.

We haven't checked how far the land-based machine proposals have progressed, so treat those as proposals. Online advertising rules are covered separately on our gambling advertising rules page.

Common myths about the 2023 gambling white paper

Reform stories spread quickly, and some are simply wrong. These are the ones we see most.

• 'Affordability checks are now live.' Not true. Light-touch financial vulnerability checks are live; full financial risk assessments using credit data are not.
• 'Wagering requirements were banned.' No. An outright ban was consulted on and not adopted; the cap is 10x.
• 'Offers can't depend on how long you play.' No such 2026 ban exists. The rule is that an offer can't be made bigger because you hit the qualifying spend faster.
• 'The levy is a tax on players.' It's paid by operators; see our gambling statutory levy page.
• 'Autoplay was banned in 2023.' Slot autoplay went in October 2021; the ban was extended to all online casino games on 17 January 2025.

Our guide on why there is no autoplay on UK casino apps covers the game design side in more detail.

Gambling white paper 2023 timeline

The Commission announced the bonus changes in its safer and simpler promotions news (opens in a new tab), and its stake limit guidance (opens in a new tab) sets out the £5 and £2 limits.

White paper-compliant casino apps with a welcome offer

Every licensed app must follow the white paper rules, so compliance alone isn't a reason to pick one. What stands out about our three closest partners is that their welcome offers carry no wagering, comfortably inside the 10x cap. 18+ and terms apply, and any spins are slot-only.

Coral Casino: 18+, new players. Between 1 October 2026 and 1 February 2027, deposit and bet £10 or more on slots for 100 free spins at 10p each on selected games (£10 in total face value). Accept within 48 hours and use within 7 days; winnings aren't wagered. Deposits by Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, prepaid cards and certain debit cards don't count.

Ladbrokes Casino: 18+, new customers. Deposit and spend £10 or more on slots for 50 free spins a day over 10 days, at 10p each on selected games, up to 500 spins (£50 face value). Claim each day's spins by 23:59; they last 7 days, with no wagering. PayPal, Paysafe, Neteller, Skrill, Moneybookers and prepaid card deposits are excluded.

PlayOJO: open to new UK customers aged 18+, except in Northern Ireland. A first deposit of £10 or more gives 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each (£8 face value), with winnings paid in cash and no wagering. You can't stack it with another promotion, and it only applies when you join through the designated offer link.

Because one company, LC International Limited (Entain), operates both Coral and Ladbrokes, a new account at one may rule out a new account at the other. For apps rated on their limit and time-out tools, see casino apps with the best safer gambling tools.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.