UK government to impose smaller bet limits for online slot machines

**The Buzz** · 22 February 2024, 5:07 pm

According to The Guardian, the U.K. government is poised to introduce stricter regulations, potentially capping online slot machine spins at a minimum of ?. This initiative, expected to be announced on Friday, could result in significant financial losses for casino companies, amounting to hundreds of millions of pounds.

Following the publication of a white paper on gambling reform last year, government officials have been seeking input on setting a maximum stake for digital casino-style games. It is understood that the forthcoming limit, set at ? for individuals under the age of 25, mirrors the precedent set by the government in 2019 with the imposition of a similar limit on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs). There will be a higher limit of ? a spin for anyone over that age.

From the article:

At the moment, there is in effect no limit on the amount that gamblers can stake on the games, which make more than ?bn a year from players and carry a higher rate of addiction than other products, such as betting on football. Some of the larger operators do impose limits voluntarily.

Gambling campaigners and industry sources told the Guardian that they were expecting the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to reveal more details, including when the restrictions will come into force, on Friday. The DCMS declined to comment.
The restriction could cost the UK gambling industry hundreds of millions of pounds in revenues.

When the government began its consultation on what limits to impose, it suggested a range of between ? and ?5. The white paper, published in April 2023, estimated that setting the limit at ?.50, the mid-point of the suggested range, would cost the industry up to ?85m. But imposing a limit of ?, or ? for younger players, is likely to cause the cost to online casino companies to soar beyond that level.

An industry source said setting two-stake limits was also likely to add costs for operators.

Liz Ritchie, who co-founded the charity Gambling With Lives after her son Jack took his own life following a gambling addiction, said: “The gambling industry may present this as harm to their profit margin but the real harm is to the millions trying to cope with addiction caused by toxic gambling products, and the terrible suffering of families bereaved by gambling suicide.

“The government has lost another opportunity to stop the harm caused by high stake sizes, and the truth is that many more people will die.?br />
Online casinos are the largest and fastest-growing segment of the gambling industry, accounting for ?bn of the sector’s ?1bn in revenues last year, excluding the national lottery.

Of that ?bn, slots account for ?.2bn, according to the latest statistics from the Gambling Commission, for the year to March 2023.

Read the article here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/...-slot-machines

**AVC-Invest** · 23 February 2024, 4:40 pm

? per spin is fairly high anyway per spin on a slot machine IMO. I would imagine over 95% of players bet this amount or less per spin. I doubt it will have much financial impact for online operators.

**universal4** · 23 February 2024, 5:11 pm

Actually for some players even ? per spin is too low.

Additionally some progressives on a portion of games do not trigger or pay out on minimum wagers. In those cases the games may become obsolete or need to be redeveloped.

Also am curious to know if the maximums will apply to all players or whether some operators may be able to circumvent some of that by their VIP programs.

Rick
Universal4

**The Buzz** · 26 February 2024, 9:20 am

Here's the official press release:

https://www.dietistaktuellt.com/article/new-max...s-in-uk-255536

Gambling Minister Stuart Andrew said:

"Although millions of people gamble safely every single day, the evidence shows that there is a significantly higher problem gambling rate for online slot games."

"We also know that young adults can be more vulnerable when it comes to gambling related harms, which is why we committed to addressing both of these issues in our white paper."

"The growing popularity of online gambling is clear to see, so this announcement will level the playing field with the land-based sector and is the next step in a host of measures being introduced this year that will protect people from gambling harms."

**Mattbar** · 26 February 2024, 11:13 am

Originally Posted by universal4

Also am curious to know if the maximums will apply to all players or whether some operators may be able to circumvent some of that by their VIP programs.

They are talking about ending VIP programs too, or have they already? I can't keep up. That will mean all have the same limits.

It seems like the only option for those wanting to spend >?/spin will be unlicensed sites, which defeats the object of these reforms.

**casionmark** · 26 February 2024, 12:41 pm

It's up to ? for 25+. There is no mention of increasing the stake limit above that based on affordability or VIP status.

**mickyfu** · 26 February 2024, 4:14 pm

Originally Posted by AVC-Invest

? per spin is fairly high anyway per spin on a slot machine IMO. I would imagine over 95% of players bet this amount or less per spin. I doubt it will have much financial impact for online operators.

In my opinion not a chance, I mostly promote slot games, and most spin way higher than 2 pound a spin. All this will achive (along with afordability checks) is driving more to the black markets, where many will be scammed.

**AVC-Invest** · 26 February 2024, 4:32 pm

There was some research done on bet sizing recently for online casinos, and out of over 1 billion spins, they worked out the average bet size for slots was ?.98. (? applicable is only for under 25 also(. So if we take that as an average it works out at over double, and ? for adult 25+, over 5 times the average bet size.

**AVC-Invest** · 26 February 2024, 4:36 pm

The vast majority of bettors the ? will be applicable, so I wouldn't worry too much about the ? for under 25s. I am more concerned on the affordability checks.

**Madz** · 27 February 2024, 4:43 am

Originally Posted by AVC-Invest

There was some research done on bet sizing recently for online casinos, and out of over 1 billion spins, they worked out the average bet size for slots was ?.98. (? applicable is only for under 25 also(. So if we take that as an average it works out at over double, and ? for adult 25+, over 5 times the average bet size.

The ?.98p bettors and under must be the ones that sign up via my links over the years. The only "big fish" I have is from the local chippy and now Russia have stopped us fishing in their waters they are gonna be like tadpoles from now on!

**Pokerface** · 27 February 2024, 10:22 am

Does the UK Government just sit around and wonder what to hit next with igamig? Surely there must be more important concerns.

**Madz** · 27 February 2024, 9:43 pm

Originally Posted by Pokerface

Does the UK Government just sit around and wonder what to hit next with igamig? Surely there must be more important concerns.

Not really, the country is doing really well at the moment, the NHS is thriving, people are happy with their pay and overall quality of lives, crime is down, the roads are in great condition, people used to wait months for a dentist appointment, now its mere hours, and the Conservative Government has record approval ratings in recent polls... /s

**Pokerface** · 28 February 2024, 8:46 am

Totally agree, Madz; being British myself, I see the improvements you mention. I was more specifically referring to the gaming industry, would be good to continue to focus on what is improving rather than always going after the gaming industry.

**baldidiot** · 28 February 2024, 12:20 pm

Originally Posted by AVC-Invest

There was some research done on bet sizing recently for online casinos, and out of over 1 billion spins, they worked out the average bet size for slots was ?.98. (? applicable is only for under 25 also(. So if we take that as an average it works out at over double, and ? for adult 25+, over 5 times the average bet size.

The problem with using averages for this is that a lot of people aren't average... This 98p figure could, for example, be made up of a load of penny slot players doing 10p a spin and a bunch of ?0 per spin players.

The other thing to consider is that small stakes players probably do more spins than high stakes ones, meaning that the number of spins skews the data massively.

Eg: If you have two players and one does 1000 spins at 10p and the other does 100 spins at ?0, the average comes out as ?.10, but at the end of the day whilst ? would look like it's sufficient for 90% of the spins it only represents 50% of the players (in my fictional illustration).

Different players have different playing styles, is my point, and the average doesn't account for that.

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