Gambling deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion, answered with the UK rules

2026-10-18

24 hours. On a UK-licensed site, a request to raise a deposit limit has to wait at least a day before the new limit takes effect. Lowering it works straight away.

That difference shows how limit settings are designed. Below are the rules the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) sets for sites, answered situation by situation. Licences from other countries can work differently.

1.When does a site first ask about limits?

At registration or the first deposit. The UKGC's remote technical standard (RTS 12) requires the site to prompt for a limit then.

To skip setting one, the customer has to say so explicitly. Only after that confirmation can the site take a deposit.

2.How is a deposit limit set?

The one limit a site must offer is a gross deposit limit. It caps the total that can be paid in over a chosen period.

The periods on offer must include 24 hours, 7 days and 1 month.

Loss limits, spend limits and net deposit limits are extras a site may add. Only a gross limit can be called a deposit limit.

Setting a daily and a weekly limit together

The rules give an example. With £10 a day and £100 a week both set, the stricter one wins.

Paying in £10 every day caps the week at £70. The £100 weekly limit is never reached.

So when stacking limits, work the sums from the shorter period.

When the limit is reached

Once the limit is reached, further deposits are blocked until the period restarts or the customer raises the limit.

Does raising a limit work straight away?

No. Lowering a limit applies at once; raising it needs at least 24 hours of cooling-off and then a fresh confirmation.

The cooling-off pushes a heated decision back by a day. Because it needs one more click afterwards, a change of mind the next day simply means leaving it alone.

3.What if I just want a few days off?

That is a time-out. UKGC licence condition 3.3.4 requires options of 24 hours, one week and one month.

If the customer asks for another period, the site must allow it up to 6 weeks.

4.What if I want to stop completely?

That is self-exclusion. UKGC code 3.5.4 sets the minimum period at 6 to 12 months and asks sites to let customers choose up to at least 5 years.

It can be entered at once, with no cooling-off.

When the chosen period ends, the exclusion stays in place for at least 7 years unless the customer actively asks to return. Coming back within that time needs a day's cooling-off and a phone call or a visit.

The code also asks sites to point customers to software that blocks gambling sites on their own devices.

5.Where can I get help?

Gambling law depends on where the player lives, and the rules above are for UK-licensed sites. In Korea, Article 246 of the Criminal Act makes gambling punishable.

In Korea, the Korea Center on Gambling Problems runs the 1336 helpline (kcgp.or.kr). Money management numbers can be worked out in advance with the martingale calculator guide.

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