The Gambling Commission has clarified its position after GamblingNews.uk asked whether operators are permitted to trigger financial and mental health checks specifically once a customer requests to withdraw winnings, rather than earlier in the customer relationship.
A Gambling Commission spokesperson has told GamblingNews.uk that additional checks on withdrawal requests can be legitimate in certain circumstances, particularly where anti money laundering concerns arise. However, the regulator draws a clear line on timing.
“There can be legitimate reasons why some withdrawal requests require additional checks, such as Anti Money Laundering checks,” the spokesperson told GamblingNews.uk.
“But we are clear that operators that have concerns about risk of money laundering or that a customer may be at risk of harm should not be waiting until withdrawal to interact with their customer.”
The statement addresses a long running complaint among bettors, who report that checks tend to appear only once a significant win is due to be paid out, rather than during account opening or regular play monitoring.
Operators in Great Britain hold licences under the Gambling Act 2005, which requires them to keep gambling crime free, ensure fairness, and protect children and vulnerable people from harm. These three licensing objectives underpin the Commission’s approach to enforcement.
The Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, known as LCCP, set out specific requirements around customer interaction and anti money laundering controls. Operators must assess and manage risk on an ongoing basis, not only at the point of payout.
Source of funds checks, which ask customers to prove where betting money originates, have become a particular flashpoint. Consumer advocates argue these checks are sometimes deployed selectively against winning customers rather than applied consistently across an operator’s customer base.
The Commission published guidance in 2024 addressing withdrawal delays after receiving a high volume of complaints on the subject. Withdrawal issues have remained among the most common categories of complaint the regulator receives from consumers.
Andrew Rhodes, the Commission’s former chief executive, previously highlighted concerns about operators asking for source of funds information only after a withdrawal request had already been submitted, holding the balance until checks were satisfied.
The regulator’s expectation is that risk based interaction happens throughout the customer relationship. Operators are expected to identify signs of financial harm or money laundering risk through ongoing monitoring, not through a single check applied at the moment of payout.
Industry lawyers have noted that operators withholding funds solely pending a source of funds request, without an underlying suspicion of money laundering, sit on uncertain legal ground under current guidance.
Customers who believe a withdrawal has been unfairly delayed or withheld can raise a complaint directly with the operator in the first instance. Unresolved disputes can then be escalated to the Independent Betting Adjudication Service, known as IBAS.
The Gambling Act 2005 remains under continued review following the 2023 gambling white paper, which introduced measures including financial risk checks for online operators, phased in gradually since 2025.
Those financial risk checks, sometimes referred to as affordability checks, are intended to be proportionate and unobtrusive for the vast majority of customers, according to government guidance issued alongside the white paper.
The Commission’s comments to GamblingNews.uk suggest continued regulatory attention on how and when operators apply checks, with an emphasis on proactive customer interaction rather than checks concentrated around withdrawal requests.
Operators found to be in breach of licence conditions can face regulatory action from the Commission, ranging from formal warnings to financial penalties or licence review, depending on the severity of the failing identified.
