Online slots stake limit guidance
The vast majority (around 80%) of respondents with a Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score of 0 reported that seeing gambling advertising never prompted them to spend money gambling when they were not otherwise planning to. Equally, higher-risk gamblers are more likely to report spending money as a result of seeing any form of advertising. These reforms will also benefit everyone who chooses to gamble, by giving every customer increased clarity and control over the communications that they receive, and ensuring that bonuses from operators are offered in a socially responsible fashion. The objective to protect vulnerable people from harm is at the heart of this Review and these proposals.
This is the legal age at which one can purchase products such as alcohol and tobacco, and access the full range of gambling activities. Similarly, we cannot yet pre-empt the outcomes of the Gambling Commission’s consultation on unsupervised premises and the impacts this could have. We challenge these industries to take further measures to urgently improve age verification measures, including by obtaining commercial verification of increased pass rates. While this does not in itself indicate that large numbers of children are accessing gambling illegally, it suggests that these sectors have not taken sufficient action to ensure appropriate processes are in place. While we welcome these improvements, this is still far lower than other gambling venues and other age restricted products. According to test purchasing operations conducted by one respondent, the pass rate was 26% in early 2020, before premises were closed by COVID-19 restrictions.
In NatCen’s Patterns of Play dataset for online gambling, men account for 74% (on a weighted basis) of online gamblers whose gender was recorded. Streaming of live horse races is a key product for betting shops and online operators, and will remain so. A consultancy study commissioned by the racing industry and shared with DCMS after the call for evidence concluded that in 2022 the levy represents around 6% of total income to horse racing.
The regulator also makes use of the system of personal management licences to act against individuals and there have been licence suspensions in cases where the regulator considered the operator to be substantially non-compliant. The usual pattern of regulatory enforcement is for the regulator to instigate a review of the operating licence in question, with the consequences described above. The British regulator continues its series of enforcement actions against its licensees, as described above, including follow-ups from previous enforcement actions. Have fines, licence revocations or other sanctions been enforced in your jurisdiction? Anyone who is involved to any material extent in the provision of gambling, or gambling software, may be committing an offence in the UK if they are not correctly licensed or if they cannot take advantage of one of the limited range of exemptions in the legislation.
However, given these enhanced protections and the experience of 2005 Act casinos since the Act was introduced, we consider it would be justified to bring greater coherence to the licence system by applying the same principles to casinos of a certain size. The Gambling Commission’s advice on land-based gambling sets out four main recommendations, together with commentary on specific issues explored in, and raised in response to, the government’s call for evidence. The Gambling Commission found that there was no distinction between the casinos licensed under the 2005 Act and those licensed under the 1968 Act in terms of its enforcement and compliance work on anti-money laundering and safer gambling issues. Operators told us that there are few places where demand for casinos is not currently met, but that there should be a mechanism for allocating licences to these areas in future. This strand of the Review set out to consider whether the current rules and protections outlined above are still relevant and provide the right protections for customers, taking into account the emergence of online gambling, and the changes in technology and society since 2005. Within those dedicated premises, the 2005 Act envisaged a hierarchy where the highest risk activities (such as certain gambling products, or having alcohol and gambling available at the same time) were confined to establishments with more controls.
This is viewed as a more proportionate table gaming area compared to other floor space requirements, and will ensure parity with 1968 Act casinos. Small 2005 Act casinos will also experience a reduction in their required minimum table gaming area, from 500sqm to 250sqm. This will ensure that only distinct and sizeable table gaming areas can count towards the total, giving customers a genuine mix of products that are easily accessible and identifiable in a casino. Despite respondents indicating a preference for venues to be made to reduce their gambling area, we think this is a fair exemption for the small number of casinos that it will apply to.
Once published, CIAs place some of the ongoing analytical burden on the applicant, as the operator has the option to demonstrate that its proposals will not increase harm in a particular area. We accept there is merit in bringing the regime for gambling in line with alcohol and will legislate to introduce CIAs when Parliamentary time allows. We also recognise that licensing authorities, as well as the LGA and the Gambling Commission, have requested that CIAs are introduced.
In the event that one or more unused licences will be reallocated, we will consult on a process for local authorities to express interest in developing a casino in their area, including on the criteria against which expressions of interest should be evaluated. Both of these options would require a process to be put in place to enable a licensing authority to apply for the right to issue a casino licence in its licensing area. 1968 Act licences can move premises within a licensing authority (with agreement from the licensing authority), whereas 2005 Act licences cannot once they have been allocated to specific locations. It is not possible to create any new 1968 Act licences as these were superseded by the 2005 Act system, which preserved 1968 Act casinos on an open-ended basis.
Should there be a minimum transaction time for customers making a cashless transaction on a gaming machine? As part of the process of allowing players to make debit card transactions by turning away from the gaming table at casinos, the sector committed to an approach of 30 seconds of visual separation in ensuring a break in play before accessing additional funds. Moreover, the current framework does not solve the issue that unless customers actively plan to bring cash to a pub for use on a gaming machine, then they are unlikely to use one. Bacta highlighted that pubs no longer give cashback and ATMs have all but disappeared from pubs, making it more difficult for customers to access cash to use on machines.
In order to offer this, operators will be required to hold relevant operating licences from the Gambling Commission. The white paper set out the intention for all casinos to be able to include a sportsbook as part of their product offering. A further advantage would be allowing operators to create an experience which competes with international gaming jurisdictions, and elevates the reputation of Britain as a gaming destination for international gaming tourists. For example, it may lead to increased popularity/GGY of casinos which could have knock-on benefits to surrounding businesses or other sectors which are closely interlinked with it, for example the food and beverage or advertising sectors.
Some players object to sharing financial information with gambling operators. Operating without a valid UKGC licence while serving UK customers is a criminal offence, and players at unlicensed sites have no regulatory protections. If a casino does not appear on the UKGC register or its licence has been revoked, do not play there.
Draft SI: The Gambling Act 2005 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Order
This information is available in the casino’s terms and conditions and on the UKGC register. UKGC-licensed operators must protect player funds so that, in the event of insolvency, your balance can be returned to you. Understanding these protections helps you appreciate why playing at a UKGC-licensed casino is so important.
Cash-only gambling was assumed to give players more control by providing natural interruptions in play to obtain more cash, helping players play within budget limits. Please outline any other proposals relating to machine allowances in arcades and bingo halls that you think that we should consider. We welcome further evidence on this in the consultation response.
Common ADR providers used by UK casinos include eCOGRA, IBAS (Independent Betting Adjudication Service), and the Gambling Commission’s own ADR scheme. All games offered by UKGC-licensed casinos must be independently tested to ensure fairness. We recommend choosing casinos that offer medium or high protection.
A financial risk model must help protect those vulnerable cohorts for whom even relatively modest gambling losses could be in itself harmful, for example by limiting income available for necessities. The Gambling Commission published a consultation and call for evidence on issues around customer interaction, including preventing harmful or unaffordable losses, in December 2020. The obligations on remote operators to monitor account activity and intervene where individuals display signs of potential harm are a cornerstone of the current package of protections online. While there are real complexities that make it difficult to pinpoint a precise figure, the weight of the evidence suggests that those being harmed by gambling are overrepresented among those with high gambling spend. In responses to our call for evidence, estimates of the Gross Gambling Yield derived from harmful gambling varied significantly, as they have in previous evidence such as that reviewed by the knowledge exchange GREO in 2019, which found estimates range between 15% and 50%. Some submissions pointed out that a reliance on a high spending minority is not unusual in other sectors (such as air travel) and that higher than average spending on gambling is not in itself evidence of harm as discretionary income varies significantly across individuals.
Box 7: Wider work on online advertising and consumer protection
In planning terms, individual gambling premises in England are sui generis (a class of their own) which means that new types of premises cannot be opened without planning permission. In England, the planning system also offers another layer of control to the opening of gambling premises. The Commission and licensing authorities are given broad powers to set conditions that require licensed gambling to be carried out in a way that is consistent with the licensing objectives of keeping it fair and open and free from crime, and protecting children and vulnerable people. Although submissions to the call for evidence suggested that policy statements have limited significance when weighed against the ‘aim to permit’, many licensing authorities have taken significant steps to update their policy statements and apply them when making their decisions. These objectives can inform decisions and actions, such as attaching conditions to premises licences and requiring applicants to provide certain information as part of their application, such as proximity to sensitive locations or vulnerable communities.
- We propose that an operator must notify the licensing authority of their intention to increase their number of gaming machines.
- Those changes are being delivered through updates to the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) and through the annual Finance Acts, rather than through a new gambling statute.
- The Data Protection and Digital Information (No .2) Bill, currently before Parliament, includes some important clarifications to the rules around lawful processing and the circumstances in which personal data collected for one purpose can be used for other purposes, which should make the law clearer in this area.
- Responses from treatment and recovery support stakeholders also highlighted the need to consider the potential impact of different forms of financial redress on a person with gambling disorder.
By contrast, the majority of gambling operators, across all sectors (bingo, arcade, casino and betting) advocated for either no increase or a small increase of 10%. Our proposal to introduce an age limit on these machines is a precautionary measure to protect children and young people from gambling-related harm. The government will allow direct debit card payments on gaming machines through a made negative statutory instrument, which will also include some of the player protection measures outlined in this chapter, such as the account verification requirement for each transaction. We propose that the default limits for B1 machines are aligned to those machines in arcades, bingo halls and betting premises. The government proposes that mandatory limits must be included on gaming machines accepting cashless forms of payments.
Respondents in favour of sports betting pointed to evidence of casino customers placing sports bets via mobile devices while in casinos, with casinos being an environment in which people habitually watch sport. Very few responses were received by operators who hold more than one premises licence at the same location, but the majority of these indicated that they would not look to take up the maximum entitlement of 80 machines per licence were it to be an option. When asked about the likely impact of the proposed changes, if a new regime were to take effect with the proposed new maximum of 80 gaming machines, the majority of operators (88%) stated they would look to move onto this regime. These respondents also suggested that increasing the availability of gaming machines will not make customers more likely to take breaks, due to the prospect of other customers taking over their machine and claiming their ‘perceived winnings’.
Players who register with GamStop are blocked from all UKGC-licensed online casinos simultaneously — one of the most powerful tools available anywhere in the world. Under the UK casino regulations, casinos must confirm customers can afford their level of play. Driven by the Government’s Gambling White Paper — enacted through 2024–2025 legislation — these sweeping changes introduce a series of player-protection measures that directly affect how online casinos operate. Online casino games, slots, poker, bingo, and sports betting are all legal, provided the operator holds a UK Gambling Commission licence. To legally offer gambling services in the UK, operators must obtain licences from the UK Gambling Commission. Casino gambling is permitted online and in land-based venues, provided the operator is licensed by the UKGC.
Such measures balance sector growth with social responsibility, ensuring a sustainable industry future. He advocates modernizing operations by integrating sports betting and expanding electronic payments. Industry leaders and regulators have laid a roadmap for the UK casino sector’s future, emphasizing pivotal changes.
For this reason, submissions from members of the public which came via 38 Degrees accounted for 94% of all submissions of the Act Review call for evidence by volume. However, where the evidence is pertinent to policy development, suitably anonymised excerpts have been included throughout the white paper. We do not intend to publish in full all of the submissions to the call for evidence as a number of respondents provided information on a confidential basis. Finally, treatment providers, most notably NHS clinicians and third sector gambling treatment specialists, provided 8 submissions. 18 sports and racing bodies provided targeted submissions on aspects of the call for evidence which overlapped with their sport, mainly on advertising and sponsorship. The All Party Betting and Gaming Group did not make a collective submission, but individual members provided evidence independently.
However, as outlined below, more deprived communities have higher rates of people experiencing problem gambling. When all forms of gambling are considered together, participation is higher among men (57.4% of men surveyed in England between 2012 and 2018 had gambled in the previous 12 months) than women (50.7%). The National Lottery has had a broad customer base since its launch in 1994 and remains the most popular gambling product (see Figure 2 below).
The Gambling Act 2005 created a non gamstop sites partnership between the Gambling Commission and 368 licensing authorities in England, Wales and Scotland for the regulation of land-based gambling. Please upload any further evidence or any other information that should be considered as part of this consultation relating to an age limit on ‘cash-out’ Category D slot-style machines. Do you think premises should adopt voluntary test purchasing as a way to monitor under-18s activity on Category D ‘cash-out’ slot-style machines? While under-18s may make up a small proportion of total players, there is evidence that they do play on these machines. Granular data is not available on how many of these are ‘cash-out’ slot-style machines, which are in scope of this measure.
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For bingo halls, based on a sample of approximately 60 percent of the market, it is estimated that the number of Category C and D cabinets in these venues will decrease by over 1,800. We received projections on the impacts of 50/50 for industry under the proposal outlined in Option 1. If it appears evident that the ‘available for use’ guidance is not working as intended following changes to the current regulatory framework, we will consider bringing forward secondary legislation to more directly deliver the intended machine mix. For example, numbers provided by the Bingo Association show that the number of bingo premises that offer mainstage bingo declined from 335 at the end of 2018 to 272 in March 2023. Challenges caused by rising energy costs are in addition to the longer-term commercial challenges faced by industry, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, owing to a change of thinking and a desire to generate some tax revenue from online operators, the UK decided to take matters into its own hands. Through a combination of tight controls, high quality operators and technological innovation, UK iGaming has always been a leading light in the global industry. The UK’s iGaming industry has always been held up as an example of quality when compared to other gambling jurisdictions. This applies to all online and offline gambling services. Since April 2020, it has been illegal for UK-licensed gambling operators to accept credit card deposits. Ensure the licence is active and covers “remote casino” activities.