10x Wagering Cap: What it Mean for UK Players

For much of the UK population, Monday 19 January 2026 had little to distinguish it from the other Mondays of the year. However, for those involved in the online gambling business, the third Monday of 2026 saw the ushering in of significant new UK Gambling legislation.

Player bonuses sit squarely in the crosshairs of these new regulations. Not satisfied with increasing the remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% as of 1 April 2026, the UK government targets wagering requirements and mixed product offers.

Say farewell to 40x, 50x, and 60x wagering requirements and hello to a new 10x wagering cap. In addition, out go the sports betting/casino/bingo combo deals in favour of simpler single-product offers.

These dramatic - some would say extreme - alterations stride onto the online gambling scene to increase clarity and reduce gambling-related harm. Noble aims for sure, but what does this all mean for the most important individuals – the UK players?

What Has Changed?

The squeezing of bonus conditions was announced on 26 March 2025 and is a product of the 2023 White Paper – High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age. The relevant alteration to the Licensing Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) states that all holders of a UK licence must not:

1. Apply wagering requirements, which require a customer to play through bonus funds, over a maximum of 10 times. A wagering requirement is where a customer is required to make wagers totalling a particular value for funds to become withdrawable.
2. Include more than one type of gambling product (betting, casino, bingo, and lottery) within an incentive.

Outlining the driving motivation for these alterations, a statement from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) read: “We want consumers to be able to understand exactly what is being offered to them and how much they need to gamble before they can withdraw any winnings. These changes are about clarity, fairness, and consumer protection.”

What Does it Mean?

Clarity, fairness, and consumer protection all sound positive for UK players so far. At first glance, the two changes suggest an improvement in bonus terms and conditions. But is the situation so clear-cut?

The 10x Wagering Cap

The 10x wagering requirement cap is the headline act. Anyone who has ever claimed a casino bonus will be aware of the spectre of the wagering requirement. That £200 matched deposit bonus always looks attractive, calling “come and get me” from the attractive parade of welcome deals. However, the offer loses a little appeal when a closer inspection reveals the unsightly blemish of a 60x wagering requirement.

Wagering Requirements Explained

If you are here, reading this, you almost certainly know what a wagering requirement is.

However, for the uninitiated, a wagering requirement refers to the number of times you must stake the value of the bonus before it becomes withdrawable as real cash. For example, a £50 bonus with a 30x wagering requirement would require total stakes of £1500.

The size of the wagering requirement dictates how likely it is that you will ever receive any tangible value from your bonus. The higher the wagering requirement, the higher the chance that your bonus will disappear before you get to feel the benefit.

Let’s consider the expected outcomes of a £50 Matched Deposit Bonus with 60x, 40x, and 30x wagering requirements. For this example, we will attempt to meet the wagering requirements by playing £1 spins on a slot game with a 96% RTP, meaning we will lose 4p per spin on average.

• At 60x, we must stake £3,000, i.e. 3,000 x £1 spins. This results in an expected loss of £120. Enough to wipe out not only the £50 bonus but also the £50 deposit.
• At 40x, we must stake £2,000, i.e. 2,000 x £1 spins. This results in an expected loss of £80. Again, comfortably more than the value of the bonus.
• At 30x, we must stake £1,500, i.e. 1,500 x £1 spins. This results in an expected loss of £60. A bit better, but still enough to erase the bonus amount and a chunk of our deposit.

The lesson from our example on 30x, 40x, and 60x wagering requirements is as follows. The mathematical expectation of meeting the wagering requirements is -£10, -£30, and -£70. In reality, variance dictates that some players would earn a profit from this type of bonus. Nevertheless, those numbers do put a dampener on the type of Matched Deposit bonuses commonly available in the past.

But what about the shiny new 10x maximum wagering requirement?

At 10x, we must stake £500, i.e. 500 x £1 spins. This results in an expected loss of just £20, leaving us with a £30 profit from the bonus amount.

That looks good on paper. However, if you expect online casinos to continue offering a promotion which sees them lose an average of £30 per player, you might want to think again.

The Death of the Matched Deposit Bonus?

And as if by magic, the new legislation appears to have swept away offers in the vein of “100% Matched Deposit up to £200”, “150% Matched Deposit up to £150”, etc.

So, if not the Matched Deposit Bonus, what can UK Players look forward to in 2026 and beyond? The early answer appears to be a raft of Free Spins.

Interestingly, a selection of the biggest operators initially opted for a No Deposit Free Spins offer, combined with an additional incentive for those making a deposit. Others have stuck to the familiar “stake and get” formula. Early examples include:

• 50 Free Spins, No Deposit, No Wagering + Spend £10 and Get 200 Free Spins
• 60 Free Spins, No Deposit, No Wagering + Deposit £10 and Get 200 Free Spins
• Deposit and wager £10 for 100 cash spins
• Bet £10 to get 200 Free Spins.

Not bad offers by any means, but they lack the perceived cash value of the Matched Deposit style deal.

Free Spins are almost always issued at 10p per spin. Taking the best of our example offers, which awards 260 Free Spins, that still creates a perceived Bonus Value of only £26 – solid, but only a fraction of the £100+ Match Deposit deals of the not-so-distant past.

The Percentage Contribution Loophole

One thing not specifically mentioned in the 2026 legislation is the variation in percentage contribution across different games. In the world of wagering requirements, not all games count equally. Slot game stakes generally make a 100% contribution towards a wagering requirement, i.e. £1 staked counts as £1 towards the wagering requirement. However, table games often count as only 10%, i.e. £1 staked counts as £0.10 towards the wagering requirement. Wagering on specific types of games, like table and jackpot games, is also often not allowed.

In theory, an online casino could increase the effective cost of a 10x wagering requirement by adjusting game contribution rates. If slot games were to contribute 50% rather than 100%, a 10x requirement would, in practice, become 20x. The UKGC has indicated that it will be alert to any practices undermining the spirit of the new rules. However, there is currently nothing in the published legislation that explicitly prevents operators from altering contribution percentages.  

Will Lower Wagering Requirements Lead to Lower RTP?

As outlined in our wagering requirements explainer, high wagering requirements helped casinos protect themselves financially – most players weren’t expected to earn a profit from their bonus. The higher the wagering requirement, the more likely a player is to lose not only the value of the bonus but also at least a portion of their deposit, thus earning a profit for the casino.

When viewed in this light, it is clear that lower wagering requirements are bad for online casinos. If something is bad for an online casino, it may ultimately be the player who pays the price.

If the early response to the legislation is any guide, the new breed of casino welcome offer will be on a significantly smaller scale. The required deposit, bonus value, and wagering requirements will be lower, while the chance of the player earning a profit – particularly in the case of no wagering free spins – will be higher. All bad news for an online casino attempting to maximise profits.

And if a casino's profits in one area are hit, they will look to replace them elsewhere. But where to claw back these lost earnings?

For many, the quickest and simplest solution will be RTP. Already at a notably low level, this legislation is unlikely to trigger an uptick in the average RTP found at UK online casinos.

An RTP of around 96% is accepted as the average for an online slot game. However, most modern slot games come with a variable RTP profile (e.g. 96%, 94%, or 92%). The operator is then free to select which version they deploy on their site. The question to ask is this: Is an industry under increased fiscal pressure more likely to lean towards the 96% RTP setting, or the 92% setting?

Selecting 92% over 96% means players are paying 8p as opposed to 4p for every £1 spin. Extrapolated across thousands of players and millions of spins, that adds up to a huge transfer of cash from the player to the casino. To many players, this will act as an invisible tax. A casino must list the RTP of all games, but the information is often buried away in the game information screens. How many players always check this info?

What About the Single Product Bonus Change?

The bulk of this article discusses the 10x wagering cap, as this is the more significant of the two changes. The single product bonus will affect the structure of bonuses and limit the ability cross-sellell. However, it is unlikely to have such a direct effect on profitability as the 10x cap. From the players' point of view, this move spells the end for deals such as:

• Bet £20 to get a £20 Free Sports Bet + 20 Free Spins
• Stake £10 on Slots to Get 50 Free Spins and a £5 Bingo Bonus

From 19 January 2026, all bonuses must relate to only one product type, i.e. only casino gaming, only bingo, or only sports betting. Mix and match promotions are no more.

This change may disappoint players who enjoy a variety of products, but in reality, mixed bonuses were relatively niche, and operators are still free to offer separate promotions for each of their product types.

Has the Black Market Become More Appealing?

In the UK, when we refer to a Black Market betting site, we are referencing any site that does not hold a license issued by the UKGC - whether that be a site that is licenced by an alternative jurisdiction, e.g. Curacao, Anjouane, Kahnawáke, etc, crypto casinos that do not block UK players, or sites with dubiously opaque origins.

The first thing to say here is that we would never recommend using a black-market betting site. The reasons are manifold (and enough to fill another article), and include no player protection, no guarantee of fairness, absence of mandatory responsible gambling tools, weak data protection, and no recourse in the case of a dispute.

All of that said, there is an argument that, while aimed at increasing clarity and decreasing gambling-related harm, these new changes may usher players towards the murky and potentially dangerous waters of black-market gambling.

Under the new legislation, UKGC-regulated sites are going to offer smaller bonuses and a lower RTP than before. When combined with strict verification processes and mandatory responsible gambling features, the UKGC-regulated package may lose some appeal.

Despite the pitfalls, disillusioned UK Players can - and do - turn to the Black Market. Offering comparatively frictionless access, higher advertised RTPs, and huge Matched Deposit offers, Black Market betting sites have become increasingly attractive to UK players. With no obligation to adhere to anything the UKGC says and unaffected by the looming tax hike, this relative appeal may increase.

Noble Aims. Uncertain Result

As ever, the answer will only come in time, but those questioning whether the 2026 changes could act as a catalyst for Black Market growth may have a legitimate concern.  

The irony? UKGC rules designed to protect players may well be driving them straight to the sites they warned them against.