New Limit to Come into Effect in September 2024
Right now, there is no limit on the amount players can stake in online slot games, which brings in over £3 billion every year. Easily accessible, online slots carry a high addiction rate and are associated with binge play, long sessions, and large losses. Industry sources and gambling campaigners expected the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports (DCMS) to reveal more details about the restrictions. After a consultation period of ten weeks, the decision followed, as the majority agreed with the proposal to reduce risk by introducing statutory limits for online slot games.
Online slots, unlike land-based slot machines, have no statutory stake limits. In response to evidence, the government will introduce a £2 per spin stake limit on slots for young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. The lower limit responds to the average problem gambling score, which is the highest of any group. Managing the increase in significant risk, harm, and life-changing losses will soon to be countered by the £5 stake limit introduced for adults of 25 and over. Industry sources also feel that imposing two-stake limits is likely to add to the costs for online operators.
Campaigners Welcome New Measure, But It's Not Enough
Concerns regarding the dangers of addiction are one of the main reasons for campaigners welcoming the measures. Some feel it didn't go far enough. Labour MP, Carolyn Harris, is happy with the decision by the government to impose a limit of £2 for players under 25. Harris, who chairs a cross-party group examining the effects of gambling harm, cites the decision by the government. However, the limit of £2 should apply to everyone based on clear evidence.
The co-founder of the Gambling with Lives charity, Liz Richie, who lost her son, Jack, suffering from a gambling addiction that led to him taking his own life, shared the following. Richie feels that while the industry sees this as harming its profit margin, the real harm is families suffering terribly after losing someone to gambling suicide and millions trying to survive the addiction that is caused by gambling products. She feels another opportunity slipped through the fingers of the government to illuminate the harm caused by the high stakes, and in truth, many more will die.
The best UK online casinos are some of the fastest and largest growing entities in the gambling industry, accounting for £4 billion of the £11 billion in last year's revenue, apart from the national lottery. Slots make up £3.2 billion of the £4 billion, according to the Gambling Commission statistics across the year ending March 2023. Gambling Minister Stuart Andrew shared that even though millions gamble safely, evidence shows a significantly higher rate of problem gambling for online slots. He says the continued growth in online gambling popularity is clear to see, and that the stake limits will level all playing fields, as measures in land-based casinos will follow next.
The stake limits will be effective from September 2024 and there will be a transition period of six weeks for operators to become fully compliant with the $5 stake limit rules. Thereafter, an additional six-week period, if needed, will follow, allowing for any technical solutions and development to ensure operators are fully compliant with the $2 lower stake limit for young adults, aged 18 to 24.
Gamblers Could Be Forced to Pass Affordability Checks
Alongside the stake limits coming into force in September, the Gambling Commission is currently consulting about affordability checks and gamblers that rack up losses might have to pass. The latest polling figures released on Thursday reveal that the majority supports such measures despite the opposition from the horse racing industry. Commissioned by GambleAware, the leading gambling charity in the UK, the research by pollsters at Ipsos found wide support for light-touch and more enhanced checks. The support comes from both those placing bets in the previous 12 months and gamblers.
Around a third believe that such checks could be a privacy intrusion, although those who actually oppose such measures are far fewer. The gambling regulation proposals set out in the White Paper last year included a mandatory levy finding education, research, addiction treatment, affordability checks and the stake limits on slots. It drew almost 16,000 submissions to call for evidence by the government, representing the views across the sector, including that of the health, academia, parliament, and those experiencing gambling-related harm.
