A financial vulnerability check is a quick look at public records that every UK-licensed online casino must run once your net deposits pass £150 in a rolling 30 days. There is one threshold, the check needs nothing from you, and it doesn't look at your bank account. This guide explains how it works, what happens afterwards, and how the financial risk assessments the Gambling Commission confirmed in July 2026 will differ.
What a financial vulnerability check is
The rule is licence condition 3.4.4 in the Commission's Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, and it applies to online operators. It requires a customer-specific check of public records for significant signs of potential financial vulnerability.
The records in scope are bankruptcy orders and their equivalents, county court judgments, individual voluntary arrangements, High Court judgments, administration orders, decrees and Debt Relief Orders. If none of these apply to you, the check finds nothing and you carry on as normal.
It is not an e-wallet intermediary.">open banking check. The casino doesn't see your bank transactions, and you aren't asked to upload payslips or statements for it. The whole thing runs in the background.
The £150 trigger
The check is due when your deposits minus your withdrawals come to more than £150 in any rolling 30-day period. That single threshold has applied since 28 February 2025.
Between 30 August 2024 and 27 February 2025, the trigger was £500. That is where the £500 figure you may still see quoted comes from. It was replaced by £150, not kept as a second tier, so there is no separate 'enhanced' check at £500.
Here is how the rolling window works. Deposit £100 on 1 September and £80 on 10 September, then withdraw £40 on 12 September, and your net deposits stand at £140, so no check is needed. Deposit another £20 on 20 September and the total reaches £160, which triggers it. An operator doesn't have to repeat the check if it has already run one on you in the previous 12 months.
What happens after a check
The operator has to weigh the result together with everything else it knows about you, assess the risk and take proportionate action. It must record the reasons for its decision. Each operator sets its own policy on whether decisions are automated, made by staff or a mix of the two.
Most checks are quick. In a May 2026 blog on how the rules are working, the Commission said operators ran checks on 7% of their active accounts on average in the three months after the requirement was introduced. 78% of checks came back within 10 minutes and a further 10% within two hours. Most operators (63%) ran the check when a customer hit the threshold, while 36% ran it at earlier points, such as registration or first deposit.
When a check does turn something up, the Commission says operators have responded with earlier and more proactive contact, and in some cases automatic deposit limits. It has also warned operators against adding unnecessary friction through automated account restrictions.
What the check is not
A check running doesn't freeze your account or stop you playing, and it doesn't mean the casino thinks you have a problem. If nothing is found, you won't notice anything.
It is separate from the other checks a casino makes. Identity checks at sign-up and anti-money-laundering questions about where your money comes from follow different rules, and those can involve documents.
It isn't an assessment of your income or of whether you can afford to gamble. The Commission's tool for that, the financial risk assessment, has been confirmed but isn't in force yet.
Financial risk assessments: confirmed, not yet live
On 7 July 2026 the Commission confirmed it will introduce financial risk assessments in stages. They are designed to identify customers in financial difficulty and connect them with support, and they start at far higher spending than the £150 check.
Stage 1 starts with the largest operators. An assessment will be due when net deposits exceed £5,000 in a rolling 24 hours for customers aged 25 and over, or £2,500 for under-25s. At the final stage, the triggers fall to £1,000 in 24 hours or £3,000 over 90 days for over-25s, and £750 in 24 hours or £2,000 over 90 days for under-25s.
The thresholds are net deposits, not losses. Assessments will be document-free, provided by credit reference agencies, and won't affect your credit score. In the pilot, 97% of customers spending above the thresholds could be assessed without friction, and the Commission expects fewer than 3% of accounts to need an assessment.
There is no start date yet. The Commission will confirm the Stage 1 timetable after further engagement with the industry, and it won't take enforcement action over how operators act on assessment results during the early stages.
FVC and FRA side by side
The financial vulnerability check is live now. It starts at £150 of net deposits in 30 days and looks only at public records such as county court judgments and bankruptcies.
The financial risk assessment is confirmed but not yet in force. It will start at £5,000 of net deposits in 24 hours (£2,500 for under-25s) and use credit reference agency data to show whether a customer may be in financial difficulty.
Neither asks you to upload documents, and both are triggered by net deposits, so money you withdraw counts in your favour.
What you can do
Set your own limits. From 30 September 2026, operators must offer gross deposit limits, which cap the total you can pay in over a set period regardless of withdrawals. Only that type of limit can be called a 'deposit limit', and it must be at least as prominent as any other financial limit the casino offers.
If you think a casino has restricted your account unfairly after a check, complain to the operator first. If that doesn't resolve it, take it to the operator's approved Alternative Dispute Resolution provider, such as IBAS or eCOGRA. There is no statutory gambling ombudsman.
If you're worried about your gambling, GAMSTOP lets you self-exclude from every UKGC-licensed online gambling site at once, and GamCare's free helpline is on 0808 8020 133.