Guidance
Advisory Board for Safer Gambling (ABSG) advice on proposals for a voluntary code on deposit thresholds
ABSG has given advice to the Gambling Commission in regards to the introduction of an industry measure using net deposit thresholds.
Appendix
Table 2: Summary of Gambling Commission proposals on financial risk checks (July 2023)
| Key financial risk for consumers | Category of assessment | Proposed thresholds for consultation – 25 years old and over | Proposed thresholds for consultation – under 25 years old | Proposed net loss definition | Notes – other key aspects of proposals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Significant financial vulnerability for example bankruptcy | Light touch check using public data, and some aggregated data | £125 net loss per rolling 30 days or £500 per rolling 365 days | £125 net loss per rolling 30 days or £500 per rolling 365 days | Loss of deposited monies with an operator, not counting restaked winnings or bonus funds | Check need not be repeated within 12 months Gambling and deposits may continue while check taking place General data protection considerations apply |
| Binge gambling | Enhanced assessment | £1000 net loss per rolling 24-hour period | £500 net loss per rolling 24-hour period | As with significant financial vulnerability In addition, positive net position in preceding 7 days may be taken into account |
Check need not be repeated within 6 months Gambling may continue, further deposits halted Particular requirements for data protection considerations |
| Significant losses over time | Enhanced assessment | £2,000 net loss in rolling 90 days | £1,000 net loss in rolling 90 days | As with significant financial vulnerability In addition, positive net position in preceding 7 days may be taken into account |
Check need not be repeated within 6 months Gambling may continue, further deposits halted Particular requirements for data protection considerations |
Table 3: Canadian lower risk gambling guidelines 2021
View the original Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines poster (opens in new tab).
Guideline 1: Gamble no more than 1 percent of household income
Do not bet more than 1 percent of your household income before tax per month. For example, someone with a household income of $70,000 before tax should gamble no more than $58 per month.
The following table shows how much you can gamble each month to follow this guideline.
| Yearly household income | Maximum monthly amount |
|---|---|
| $10,000 | $8 |
| $20,000 | $17 |
| $40,000 | $33 |
| $70,000 | $58 |
| $80,000 | $67 |
| $100,000 | $83 |
| $120,000 | $100 |
| $130,000 | $108 |
Guideline 2: Gamble no more than 4 days per month
The guidelines suggest you do not gamble more than 4 times a month. This works out to roughly once a week.
For the Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines to help individuals lower their risk of experiencing harms from gambling, they must follow all 3 guidelines at the same time and not be selective about which guidelines to follow when gambling.
Guideline 3: Avoid regularly gambling at more than 2 types of games
If you gamble on a regular basis, do not play at more than 2 types of games.
Familiar types of gambling games include:
- lotteries
- sports betting
- table games (such as roulette, poker blackjack, craps)
- slot machines
- scratch tickets
- horse racing
- bingo
- Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs)
- online forms of gambling like poker or slot machines.
Special risk populations and contextual factors
If you have experienced any of the following risk factors, then these limits may not be suitable for you:
- problems from alcohol, cannabis or other drug use
- problems with anxiety or depression
- personal or family history of gambling problems or substance use disorders.
In these instances, you should consider gambling less than these guidelines recommend or not at all.
Gambling Type
The type of gambling games you play makes a difference.
Fast-paced games that involve frequent betting can more quickly lead to problems. With slot machines, electronic gaming machines, poker and many online forms of gambling, people can spend a lot of money in a short time.
Table 4: Change in risk from reference group occurring when gambling expenditure per month predicts financial, relationship, emotional and psychological, and health harms
Total sample size is 59,099.
| Type of harm and the risk associated | Gambling expenditure (percentage) per month | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than or equal to 0.10% | 0.11 to 0.50% | 0.51 to 1.0% | 1.1 to 2.0% | 2.1 to 3.0% | 3.1 to 4.0% | 4.1 to 5.0% | 5.1% and higher | |
| Sample size in category | 17,634 | 15,926 | 7,708 | 6,250 | 2,988 | 1,700 | 1,082 | 5,811 |
| Financial harm | ||||||||
| Sample reporting harm | 335 | 535 | 429 | 507 | 337 | 221 | 144 | 1,510 |
| Percentage reporting harm | 1.9% | 3.4% | 5.6% | 8.1% | 11.3% | 13.0% | 13.3% | 26.0% |
| Relative risk | N/A | 1.8 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 5.9 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 13.7 |
| Relationship harm | ||||||||
| Sample reporting harm | 173 | 249 | 207 | 287 | 178 | 129 | 99 | 1,045 |
| Percentage reporting harm | 1.0% | 1.6% | 2.7% | 4.6% | 6.0% | 7.6% | 9.1% | 18.0% |
| Relative risk | N/A | 1.6 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 6.1 | 7.7 | 9.3 | 18.3 |
| Emotional and/or psychological harm | ||||||||
| Sample reporting harm | 441 | 638 | 460 | 616 | 374 | 250 | 178 | 1,551 |
| Percentage reporting harm | 2.5% | 4.0% | 6.0% | 9.9% | 12.5% | 14.7% | 16.5% | 26.7% |
| Relative risk | N/A | 1.6 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 10.7 |
| Health harm | ||||||||
| Sample reporting harm | 142 | 221 | 157 | 219 | 133 | 87 | 76 | 776 |
| Percentage reporting harm | 0.8% | 1.4% | 2.0% | 3.5 | 4.5% | 5.1% | 7.0% | 13.4% |
| Relative risk | N/A | 1.6 | 2.5 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 8.7 | 16.6 |
Our recommendation - ABSG advice on proposals for a voluntary code on deposit thresholds
Last updated: 4 February 2025
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