Affordability Checks — UK Guide 2026

Affordability Checks UK 2026 — UKGC Rules, Your Rights, Community Experiences

Affordability checks — formally referred to as financial risk assessments by the UKGC — became the most controversial UKGC regulatory development in UK gambling in 2025. Following UKGC guidance that came into effect in February 2025, operators are required to assess financial vulnerability when a player reaches specified net deposit thresholds. The initial trigger was set at £150 net deposits per month.

What this means in practice: if you deposit more than the threshold net of withdrawals in a rolling monthly period, your operator may contact you requesting financial information. This could include bank statements, payslips, or proof of income. The casino uses this information solely to assess whether gambling losses are potentially causing financial harm. GDPR regulations require operators to protect this data and use it only for the stated purpose.

The process is controversial for legitimate reasons. Many regular recreational gamblers whose spending is entirely within their means find affordability check requests intrusive and disproportionate. Community experiences documented in this section reflect the wide range of outcomes — from brief, straightforward document submissions to extended account freezes while checks are processed.

Your rights during an affordability check: you have the right to refuse. See UKGC guidance for full detail to provide information, but the operator may then restrict your account. You have the right to close your account and withdraw. Use our casino complaints guide if your rights are not respected any remaining balance at any time. You have the right to complain to the ADR provider and UKGC if you believe the check was handled improperly.

Browse our gambling regulation and casino guides. Browse our affordability checks community discussions below. Members share their experiences — including successful resolutions and cases where checks were challenged — to help other UK players understand what to expect and how to respond in 2026.

Welcome to the Affordability Checks section of BonusCasinoSites.co.uk.

Every casino review on this site follows the same eight-point evaluation framework: UKGC licence verification, real-money deposit, bonus EV calculation, tested withdrawal, game library assessment, mobile performance, customer support quality, and community verification. No review is published without completing all eight steps. See our full methodology for the complete process.

The most important factors in choosing a UK online casino in 2026 are, in order: (1) current UKGC operating licence — non-negotiable; (2) withdrawal speed — faster is always better and the variance between operators is significant; (3) bonus terms — the January 2026 10× wagering cap separates compliant from non-compliant operators clearly; (4) game library depth; (5) mobile experience quality.

Our community of 61,247 verified UK players contributes real withdrawal time reports, bonus experience notes, and customer support interactions. These community reports are weighted alongside our own direct testing. A casino that performs well in our direct testing but generates consistent negative community reports on withdrawals is flagged accordingly — and will be rated lower than its direct test performance alone would suggest.

Casino reviews are updated whenever operators change their bonus terms, adjust wagering requirements, or receive UKGC enforcement attention. The January 2026 regulatory changes triggered a full re-review of our casino bonus listings across all operators. Reviews carrying a 2026 date stamp have been fully verified against current terms. See also our top operator reviews: Ladbrokes, PlayOJO, Fastpay, Casumo and many more — and casino comparisons for head-to-head operator analysis. Browse all operator reviews: Ladbrokes, Coral, Casumo, PlayOJO, MrQ, bet365, LeoVegas, Fastpay Casino and Videoslots.