We call on the Government to ban gambling operators from offering free bets, free spins and similar promotional incentives designed to encourage people to gamble, deposit money or increase their gambling, and to introduce stronger financial safeguards for people who choose to gamble.

Gambling is a legal activity for adults in the UK, and this petition is not calling for gambling itself to be banned.

We are asking the Government to prevent gambling companies from actively encouraging people to gamble through promotions presented as "free", while strengthening protections for people who do choose to gamble.

We believe the Government should:

Ban free bets, free spins and similar promotional gambling incentives used to attract or encourage customers.
Prohibit promotional offers that require or encourage customers to deposit money in order to receive additional gambling credit, free bets or free spins.
Strengthen financial risk and affordability checks so that people experiencing financial difficulties cannot continue gambling at levels that they cannot reasonably afford.
Require gambling customers to establish a personal gambling or deposit limit before they begin gambling.
Introduce a meaningful cooling-off period before a customer can increase their limit.
Explore a system whereby a customer's gambling limit applies across licensed gambling operators, preventing individuals from simply moving between bookmakers to circumvent limits.
Prevent gambling operators from using promotions, bonuses or targeted marketing to encourage customers to increase their gambling limits or deposits.
The Gambling Commission's own research demonstrates that gambling incentives can influence behaviour. Among surveyed problem gamblers who had received gambling incentives, 65% said they had gambled for the first time as a result of receiving a bonus offer, while 77% said free bets or bonuses encouraged them to gamble more than they wanted to. Problem gamblers were also substantially more likely than other gamblers to report receiving gambling incentives daily.

The Gambling Commission has recognised that some high-spending customers experiencing financial difficulties are not currently being identified or supported and is introducing Financial Risk Assessments in stages. We believe stronger preventative measures are necessary so that financial safeguards do not simply identify harm after substantial losses have already occurred.

We do not claim that free bets or free spins alone cause gambling addiction or that any individual tragedy can be attributed to one factor. However, we believe society should question whether gambling companies should be permitted to actively encourage people to deposit and gamble through offers presented as "free", particularly when evidence demonstrates that such incentives can encourage people to gamble for the first time or gamble more than they intended.

People should be able to make an informed decision about whether they want to gamble without being actively encouraged to do so by promotional incentives.

We therefore call on the Government to strengthen gambling regulation to reduce unnecessary encouragement to gamble and provide stronger financial protections for those who choose to participate.