Gambling Commission affordability checks: what the rules say, and what crypto casinos publish instead
When does an affordability check apply in Great Britain?
In Great Britain the financial vulnerability check triggers at 150 GBP of net deposits in a rolling 30 days and reads public insolvency records. Of the 14 offshore crypto operators on the register, 11 publish no deposit or affordability threshold of any kind.
Piece published Reviewed by CryptoGuardz Register Desk, editorial desk
Gambling Commission affordability checks start at 150 GBP. Since 28 February 2025 a casino licensed in Great Britain must run a financial vulnerability check on any customer whose deposits minus withdrawals exceed 150 GBP in a rolling 30 days, and the check reads public insolvency records, not bank statements. Of the 14 offshore crypto operators on the register, 11 publish no deposit or affordability threshold at all.
None of the 14 publishes a threshold that resembles the GB figure. "Affordability checks" is the phrase people search for. The Commission does not use it in the rule. It uses two others, with different data behind them.
What is the Gambling Commission affordability check threshold?
The threshold is net deposits above 150 GBP in a rolling 30-day period, under Social Responsibility Code 3.4.4 of the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice. The code came into force on 30 August 2024 and applies to all remote licences with a short list of exceptions. The trigger is one sentence.
From 28 February 2025, the relevant threshold is where the customer's deposits minus withdrawals exceeds £150 in a rolling 30-day period.
The same page gives the transition figure: between 30 August 2024 and 27 February 2025 the threshold was 500 GBP on the same net-deposit basis. A customer who deposits 400 GBP and withdraws 300 GBP in the window has not crossed 150 GBP.
The data checked is written down too. The code says the check "must include at a minimum a customer-specific public record information check for significant indicators of potential financial vulnerability", and lists them: a bankruptcy order or equivalent, and a county court judgment, individual voluntary arrangement, high court judgment, administration order or decree, or Debt Relief Order. That is the whole list. No payslips, no income figure, no bank account access. A check is not required again if one was run in the previous 12 months.
A flag is not an automatic exit. The Commission's consultation response records "a perception amongst some that the Commission expects a County Court Judgment (CCJ) for a parking ticket to be treated the same as bankruptcy", and says "this is not the case". Where there are no risk flags, the response states, "the customer journey continues and there are no new requirements on gambling businesses".
The pilot, and what it is not
The enhanced financial risk assessment has no live threshold. The Commission ran a pilot with operators in the highest three licence fee bands and the three credit reference agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, from 30 August 2024. Its own page says the pilot thresholds "are not indicative of where thresholds would be set following the pilot", and that "we have not made final decisions on the financial risk assessments".
The data description is where the pilot gets specific. Credit reference agencies may return a score, grade or red-amber-green status. The only customer-specific data points approved for sharing with an operator are defaults within a set period, current significant or multiple arrears, and a current debt management plan. Current Account Turnover data may feed the agency's model but, in the Commission's words, "the gambling business will not know a customer's salary" and "bank account details will not be shared with gambling businesses".
Do affordability checks mean handing over bank statements?
Under 3.4.4 and the pilot, no. The picture of a GB casino demanding three months of bank statements at 150 GBP is not what either rule says. Requests for payslips and bank statements come from the Commission's guidance on the prevention of money laundering, which sits under LCCP condition 12, not 3.4.4.
Enhanced due diligence is required in a defined set of cases, among them a customer in a high-risk third country, a politically exposed person, or "a transaction [that] is complex or unusually large, or there is an unusual pattern of transactions". For the high-risk-country case the measures must include:
obtaining information on the source of funds and source of wealth of the customer and of the customer's beneficial owner
The same section lists "the use of new or developing technologies (such as virtual currencies)" among the factors an operator must weigh when deciding whether a case is high risk. Part 6.7 contains no GBP figure. The trigger is a risk judgment, so a source-of-funds request under AML is unpredictable in a way the 150 GBP check is not.
What do offshore crypto casinos publish instead?
Three of the 14 publish a number, and none of the three is an affordability figure. None of the 14 operators on the register holds a GB licence, so none of the rules above binds them. Their own terms do, and each operator's KYC trigger and withdrawal rule is recorded in the KYC report.
| Regime or operator | Threshold | Data used | Where it is written |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB financial vulnerability check | 150 GBP net deposit, rolling 30 days | Public insolvency and court records | LCCP SR Code 3.4.4 |
| GB financial risk assessment | Pilot only, thresholds not disclosed | Credit reference agency score, three approved data points | Consultation response, 1 May 2024 |
| GB AML enhanced due diligence | No figure, risk-triggered | Source of funds and wealth | AML guidance Part 6.7 |
| Cloudbet | 2,200 USD cumulative deposits | Identity documents | Terms |
| Sportsbet.io | 2,500 EUR withdrawal, extended to smaller ones | Identity documents, random account health checks | General terms |
| Rakebit | 2,000 USD first deposit where a payment provider demands it | Identity documents via Sum and Substance | Payment policy |
| Gamdom | not disclosed | Identification, proof of address, source of funds | Terms |
| Stake | not disclosed | Diligence threshold "dependent on the account's risk characterisation" | AML policy |
| Remaining 9 operators | not disclosed | Documents "at any time" or before any withdrawal | Terms |
Cloudbet's 2,200 USD, Sportsbet.io's 2,500 EUR and Rakebit's 2,000 USD are each a point at which identity documents become mandatory, not a net-deposit test. Gamdom's terms say thresholds exist and decline to state them:
The terms state verification checks may be carried out at account registration or at any time thereafter, especially when specific financial thresholds are met or specific risk factors arise. Those thresholds are not disclosed. Documents may include government identification, proof of address and source of funds, and delays in providing them may pause withdrawal processing.
That clause names "source of funds" as a document the operator may ask for. So does Wild.io, whose privacy policy lists payment slips and bank statements. A GB-licensed casino may make that request only under a defined AML case. An offshore operator can make it at any time, with no figure the player could have anticipated, and with the withdrawal held while it waits. The full document list for each operator is in casino KYC requirements, document by document.
What this means for a GB reader
A GB-licensed operator is bound to a published figure, a published list of records, and a rule that a clean check must not interrupt play. An offshore crypto operator is bound to whatever its terms reserve, which for 11 of 14 is discretion. On paper the offshore terms are silent where the GB code is specific.
Whether a given operator will accept a GB customer at all is a separate question, answered on the markets page from each operator's restricted-country list rather than from anything the Commission publishes.
If gambling has become a problem, the National Gambling Helpline, run by GamCare, is 0808 8020 133, and GAMSTOP is the national self-exclusion scheme. Both are listed with the other markets on the responsible gambling page.
Quick answers
What triggers a Gambling Commission affordability check?
Net deposits above 150 GBP in a rolling 30 days, under LCCP Social Responsibility Code 3.4.4, in force at that level since 28 February 2025. How offshore operators trigger checks instead is on the KYC-on-withdrawal register.
Does the GB check look at my bank account?
No. The 150 GBP check reads public records such as bankruptcy orders and county court judgments, and under the pilot the Commission states bank account details will not be shared with gambling businesses. Offshore document demands are listed in casino KYC requirements.
Do crypto casinos run affordability checks?
Eleven of 14 offshore operators publish no deposit or affordability threshold, and the three that publish a figure tie it to identity documents. Which of them accept GB customers is on the markets page.
Where can a GB player get help with gambling?
The National Gambling Helpline, run by GamCare, is 0808 8020 133, and GAMSTOP is the national self-exclusion scheme. Both are on the responsible gambling page.
Sources
- LCCP Social Responsibility Code 3.4.4, Financial vulnerability check, retrieved 2026-09-28
- Gambling Commission consultation response, Our position on light-touch financial vulnerability checks, published 1 May 2024
- Gambling Commission consultation response, Next steps for a pilot of enhanced financial risk assessments, published 1 May 2024
- Gambling Commission AML guidance for casino operators, Part 6.7 Enhanced customer due diligence and enhanced ongoing monitoring
- Cloudbet terms
- Sportsbet.io general terms and conditions
- Rakebit payment policy
- Gamdom terms
- Stake anti-money-laundering policy
- CryptoGuardz operator register, KYC fields, retrieved 2026-09-02
- CryptoGuardz safer gambling directory, retrieved 2026-09-23
About this piece
Compiled by the CryptoGuardz register team from the sources listed above. Research and drafting are AI-assisted and reviewed by a named editor before publication. Nothing here is a recommendation to gamble. If a figure or a reading is wrong, tell us and the correction is logged in public.