Inactive balances and insolvency evidence
What happens to money in an inactive casino account?
In the Great Britain licensed sector, inactivity alone must not be used to confiscate a deposit balance or change a customer's legal entitlement. A qualifying dormant-account fee can still reduce a balance, and a customer-funds rating concerns a different risk: what may happen if the operator becomes insolvent.
Direct answer
Inactivity, fees and insolvency are separate questions
At least 12 months must pass since the last account use before a UKGC-licensed business classes the account as dormant. Before charging, it must try to return the money, explain a reasonable cost-reflective fee in clear terms and give at least 30 days' warning of the charging date. Permitted fees can reduce the balance to zero. None of this makes a protection rating a repayment guarantee if the business goes bust.
State and risk matrix: identify the event before applying a rule
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| State | Question to answer | Do not confuse it with |
|---|---|---|
| Active account | What balance and protection disclosure do the current statement and terms show? | A payment delay or an insolvency event. |
| Inactive for less than 12 months | When was the account last used, and has any fee been proposed too early? | A UKGC-defined dormant account. |
| Dormant after at least 12 months | Were repayment attempted, the fee disclosed and at least 30 days' warning given? | Automatic loss of entitlement to the balance. |
| Access restricted or account closed | What reason, account state and balance treatment did the operator record? | A dormancy charge based only on time. |
| Operator insolvency | What customer-funds rating and arrangement applied to the balance? | A routine withdrawal or inactivity process. |
If access is restricted or the account is closed, use the account-closure and balance-dispute guide. That page owns closure evidence. Active withdrawal timing belongs in the withdrawal and KYC guide.
The UKGC dormant-account floor
- Time: at least 12 months must have passed since the account was last used.
- Terms: the periodic maintenance fee must be clearly set out, reasonable and reflect the operator's account-maintenance costs.
- Return attempt: the operator must try to repay a credit deposit balance, including by the last payment method used where applicable.
- Warning: the player must receive reasonable advance notice of at least 30 days, including the specific date charging will begin.
- Continuing rights: internal dormant classification must not itself alter the legal status, entitlement or protection of the funds.
These are UKGC licensed-sector rules and guidance, not a finding about a particular account. Whether a specific charge complies can depend on the applicable terms, account history, notices and facts. Preserve those records and seek qualified advice where needed.
A fee deduction is not the same as confiscation
The Commission's customer-funds guidance says fair and open fees that follow the terms stop being customer funds once deducted. The operator must apply and display the deductions in the account rather than leaving the impression that deducted money is still available. Its guidance also says dormant-account fees can bring the balance to zero.
What the UKGC counts as customer funds
The UKGC public guide includes money deposited in an online account, winnings owed or left in the account, and bonus money to which the customer has become entitled under the offer terms. Record each category separately where the statement permits. Do not label an uncompleted bonus condition as an established entitlement.
Money already staked in an open bet is not treated as customer funds for the operator's insolvency-protection arrangement. That treatment concerns the money committed to an event that has not yet occurred. It does not turn the open bet into a dormant-account fee.
The three protection ratings describe insolvency arrangements
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| Rating | Current UKGC explanation | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Not protected | Money in the account would form part of the company's assets if it became insolvent, and the customer would be likely to lose it. | The terms should state the rating clearly. |
| Medium protection | The business has arrangements intended to protect customer money, such as insurance or a distribution arrangement. | Repayment is not absolutely guaranteed. |
| High protection | Money is held separately, legally recognised as separate and controlled by an independent trustee with external checks. | It offers the best chance described by the UKGC, not a guarantee. |
Gambling balances are not protected by the Commission or government in the way personal bank deposits are. Even separate customer-funds arrangements do not guarantee that every customer will recover every pound if a business runs into financial difficulty.
The unprotected-funds reminder rule
From 31 October 2025, a UKGC-licensed business holding funds under a "not protected" rating must remind the customer every six months. The reminder includes the amount held as at the time it was created, and the customer must acknowledge it before using those funds for gambling. That acknowledgement is a transparency control. It is not a promise of repayment and does not require the customer to gamble.
Fictional fee-erosion example
Assume, only for arithmetic, a starting balance of £120.00 and a fictional monthly fee of £5.00. This is not a current operator charge and does not show that the fee would be fair, cost-reflective or permitted. It begins only after the assumed notice and eligibility checks.
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| Monthly periods | Scheduled fees | Fees applied | Balance remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £120.00 |
| 1 | £5.00 | £5.00 | £115.00 |
| 6 | £30.00 | £30.00 | £90.00 |
| 12 | £60.00 | £60.00 | £60.00 |
| 24 | £120.00 | £120.00 | £0.00 |
After six fictional periods, £90.00 remains. After 24, the balance reaches zero and the applied fee total is capped at the original £120.00. The calculation never makes the account safer and is not advice to log in, deposit or play.
Jurisdiction-labelled balance exposure record
Copy the fields below into a secure note. Save relevant terms, notices, statements and correspondence, but remove passwords, full card numbers and unrelated identity data.
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| Evidence field | What to preserve |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Regulator actually applicable to the exact domain, legal operator and check date. |
| Activity and trigger | Last account use, the term's dormancy definition and calculated trigger date. |
| Balance split | Deposit, winnings, established bonus entitlement and open bets, each marked unresolved if unavailable. |
| Return and notice | Repayment attempt, payment method used, notice date, delivery evidence and proposed first charge date. |
| Fee calculation | Amount, interval, start date, each displayed deduction and independently reconciled remaining balance. |
| Protection | Exact not protected, medium or high statement and the saved terms clause. |
| Account state | Inactive, dormant, access-restricted, closed or insolvency event, without combining the labels. |
| Next route | Support request, complaint route, evidence saved and every unresolved question. |
Do not transplant UKGC rules to an offshore account
The 12-month floor, repayment attempt, warning and UKGC protection ratings described here apply to the Great Britain licensed sector. First use the casino licence-checking guide to establish the operator, exact domain and regulatory record. If the record is in the UKGC register, the field-by-field public-register evidence checklist shows what to preserve and what the result cannot prove. For an offshore account, record the actual regulator, jurisdiction, terms and insolvency wording separately. Do not imply that UKGC safeguards apply merely because a site accepts people in Great Britain.
Ask for repayment or clarification without gambling
- Preserve the record. Save the current balance, terms version, last-use date, notices and deductions.
- Request repayment or clarification. Ask support to identify the term, first charge date, calculation, return attempt and customer-funds rating.
- Do not reactivate through play. Do not place a bet, deposit, increase spending or bypass self-exclusion to reset inactivity.
- Escalate with evidence. Use the complaint evidence pack and the route applicable to the verified jurisdiction.
If account access conflicts with self-exclusion or recovery, do not log in to play. Ask for a non-gambling repayment or support route and use the safer-gambling support area. No fee or balance requires a person to gamble.
Sources and method
- UKGC: Information companies must give you about your account
- UKGC: Account inactivity
- UKGC: Information on customer funds
- UKGC: What happens if a gambling business goes bust
- UKGC: Customer-funds fees and charges
- Competition and Markets Authority: Online gambling terms guidance
The editorial team rechecked all controlling sources on 8 September 2026. The UKGC sources control the licensed-sector account and customer-funds claims; the CMA source supports the consumer-law expectations on dormant terms and makes clear that its material is not legal advice. The worked example is fictional and independently tested. Corrections can be submitted through our editorial corrections process. Sources are scheduled for recheck every 90 days and immediately after a relevant UKGC or CMA rule change.