Journey map
Registration Journey Map: Landing to First Deposit
Registration has four stages to review: landing, sign-up, verification and first deposit. The rules that shape it most are Ontario's limits at registration and Britain's limit prompt before the first deposit. Each stage below names the goal, where friction is likely, what helps and the rule to check.
The map
| Stage | What the player is trying to do | Friction to look for | Support moment | Accessibility check | Rule or standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landing | Understand what the site offers and whether it is licensed where they live | Offer terms and age limits only in small print or behind links | Key terms next to the offer and a visible link to safer play tools | Text alternatives for banner images; offer text not baked into images | AGCO 2.08: help information available, visible and accessible to all players |
| Registration | Create an account without retyping details or guessing what a field wants | Long single-page forms, errors shown only after submit, blocked paste in password fields | Grouped steps with a progress indicator; errors next to each field and in a summary | Labels, autocomplete attributes, errors in text (WCAG 3.3.1, 1.3.5, 3.3.8) | AGCO 2.23: players can set loss and deposit limits during registration |
| Verification | Prove age and identity and know when they can play | No explanation of why documents are needed or how long checks take | A status screen that names the documents, the usual wait and how updates arrive | File upload usable by keyboard; status changes announced (WCAG 4.1.3) | Great Britain: verification before gambling (LCCP, May 7, 2019); Australia: before a bet |
| First deposit | Add money with a method they trust and know the costs | Fees, limits or timing missing; limit tools hidden | A prompt to set a financial limit before the first deposit, with empty amount fields | A keyboard path through the cashier and any provider window | Great Britain: limit prompt before first deposit, from October 31, 2025 |
How to use this map
Treat each row as a review question, not a finding. Walk through your own product stage by stage, on a phone and on a desktop, and note what you see in each cell. The rule column tells you which requirement to check with your compliance team for each market; the accessibility column names the WCAG 2.2 criteria to test. The map is a template we built from published rules and standards. It does not describe any operator's product, and it contains no measured drop-off figures.
Stage notes
Landing
Players arrive from a search result, an ad or a link and decide in seconds whether to continue. The checks here are about honesty and access: are the offer's key terms next to the offer, is a safer play link visible, and do banner images carry text alternatives? Ontario's Standard 2.08 requires help information to be "available, visible and accessible to all players".
Registration
The sign-up form is where avoidable friction does most damage. Look for fields asked twice, password rules hidden until an error, and blocked paste. In Ontario, players must be able to set loss and deposit limits during registration. The registration friction paper covers the WCAG 2.2 criteria on redundant entry and accessible authentication.
Verification
In Great Britain verification must be complete before the customer can gamble, and in Australia before the account is created (AUSTRAC, since September 29, 2024). The player needs to know which documents are accepted, why, how long checks take and how they will hear back. Status changes should be announced to screen readers. The account verification paper has a status template.
First deposit
British operators must prompt new customers to set a financial limit before the first deposit, with empty free-text amounts and a visible link to limit tools on the deposit page. Fees, minimums and timing should sit next to each payment method. The cashier and any payment provider window must work with a keyboard.
Questions to ask at the end
- Could a new player tell, before starting, how many steps there are and what each will ask for?
- Did any stage ask for information the player had already given?
- Was the required friction (identity, age, limits) explained in plain words?
- Could the whole map be completed with a keyboard and with a screen reader?
- Did the limit step meet each market's rule on timing and presentation?
Record what you find with the accessibility observation log or tick through the player journey checklist.
Questions
Why does this map stop at the first deposit?
The first deposit is the point where British and Ontario rules on limits meet the sign-up flow, so it is a natural end for an onboarding review. Gameplay and account management are covered in the full seven-stage matrix on the journey maps page.
Can we add our own stages?
Yes. Many products add a welcome offer step or an app download prompt. Add a row with the same columns and check it against the same rules.
Sources
- AGCO, Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming: Responsible Gambling, sections last updated May 14, 2026.
- AGCO, Limit Setting Features, Standard 2.23 amended February 2022.
- Gambling Commission, New age and identity verification rules - changes to the LCCP from Tuesday 7 May, published May 3, 2019, updated August 27, 2021.
- Department of Social Services (Australia), Information about online gambling regulation, no date shown.
- AUSTRAC, Strengthened customer identification procedures for online gambling service providers, no date shown.
- Gambling Commission, New deposit limit rules provide clarity for consumers, published October 7, 2025.
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, W3C Recommendation, December 12, 2024.
- W3C WAI, Understanding Success Criterion 3.3.8: Accessible Authentication (Minimum), updated September 6, 2026.
- W3C WAI, Understanding Success Criterion 4.1.3: Status Messages, updated May 11, 2026.
Every source was read on October 27, 2026. How we choose and date sources: data sources.