UK online gambling operators face strict new bonus offer rules following an investigation by the national competition watchdog.

On Thursday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that certain terms in online gambling promotional offers were “likely to be ‘unfair,’ in breach of consumer protection law, and could mislead consumers.”

The CMA opened its investigation into online bonus offers in October 2016 following complaints to both the CMA and the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) that operators were using restrictions in these offers’ fine print “to block players’ payouts.” Last June, the CMA said five online operators were likely to face “enforcement action” for violating consumer law.

The CMA previewed the results of its findings last November, and said Thursday that three online operators – William Hill, Ladbrokes and Playtech offshoot PT Entertainment’s TitanBet and Winner sites – had “formally committed to change the way they offer bonus promotions to ensure players can always access and release their own money.”