A round of consultations for stake limits & affordability checks will decide which rules to implement from the UK white paper draft! (Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash.com )
The UK white paper for gambling entertainment in the country is now moving into its consultation phase. The UK Gambling Commission government authority and assigned reps for the UK government itself will work together to consult on several points outlines in the draft white paper.
It is the point at which the changes for gambling reform are starting to move closer to coming into action as the industry pivots on many of the current policies under the 2005 Gambling Act. The consultation will last over a period of 8 weeks for online casinos and 10 weeks for the land-based industry.
One key point is a consultation on financial affordability checks. Another topic players, operators, and software providers will have a close eye on and their ears to the ground is regarding stake limits for online slots.
The government and UKGC will need to tread carefully because if they choose to go with the lower end of the scale, there is a double risk. Firstly, players will find pastures new by gambling in black market casinos instead. Secondly, operators could exit the industry creating an oligopoly in the UK online gambling industry.
Avoiding a Market Exodus: On each of these points the government and the UKGC would very much like to avoid adding to an already growing UK online casino black market (gambling platforms with no UKGC licensing accepting UK players).
Financial Checks and Risk Assessments
To kick off the consultations, some of the first points to cover are regarding financial risk assessments. This is one of the most debated topics to date. Online and land-based gambling establishments will need to trigger affordability checks at a certain point in a player’s membership.
For online casinos, sports betting, and lottery sites, it will require sophisticated software. For land-based and retail gambling venues, there is a challenge ahead. I assume this will require stores to ask for ID and register every bet taken. However, quite how this would work in a pub or club with video slot machines, I really do not know.
A Path to ID Checks: Could new policies eventually lead to video slot machines installing mandatory ID checks in the future? Also, how will land-based pubs and clubs deal with affordability checks?
Online Slot Stake Limits
Another heated topic is the introduction of stake limits to online slots, table games, and other forms of gambling. On the topic of online slots, casinos online will look to the software providers to ensure their games do not exceed max bets. Systems will also need to be put in place by the casinos to ensure the game developers are in fact adding these limits.
There are two key points the government and UKGC will consult on:
- Overall Stake Limits: For online slots, the government consultation will investigate whether to add a rule that all UK online casinos use a maximum stake limit of £2 and £15 per spin. I would venture as far as to say it will probably be somewhere in the middle. For argument’s sake, let’s say £8.00 per spin is the likely outcome. Possibly £5.00 per spin at worst and £10.00 at best. Let’s see if I am right later down the line!
- Stake Limits for 18- to 24-year-olds: To add to the topic of max bet stake limits, 18-to-24-years-olds may have different limits compared to older players. At the moment the rule may not come into action. Yet if it does, the stake limit suggestion is between £2 and £4.
If these rules affect pubs, clubs, and land-based casinos, each machine will need to have an update. Although, many of these machines have already had strict take limits for a long time now. As modern video slots in brick-and-mortar establishments are generally linked in a network, this should not be a huge task for most slot machine suppliers in the UK.
Find out more about the UK gambling market: On the UK casinos page, we cover everything you need to know about online casinos in the United Kingdom. Once new rules come into play, I will make sure the information is up-to-date.
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