UK Government Sets New Max Stake for Younger Players

You might be surprised with new regulation coming from the UK. The government of the country has just unveiled that it set a new minimum stake rule for gamblers aged 18-24. This means they will need to adhere to the new rules which put the max stake on online slots between £2-5.

What’s Coming for Gamblers

The UK government has decided to apply new rules starting from the next September. This will be the first time the country introduces the max stake for online slots. This will be followed by six weeks period in which the operators will have a chance to comply to the new rules. On the top of this, brands will be able to come up with new tech solutions that will facilitate the process of compliance.

The decision to introduce a new limit has arrived after ten weeks of regular consultations between major stakeholders in the sector. As a result, they decided to set the new limit for online slots to reduce the gambling harm made on the youngest players. Such decision has been further reinforced by the support of academic world and treatment industry.

White Paper Proposal

The introduction of new stake limit for online slots has already been planned before. The UK government first disclosed it back in April 2023 as part of the Gambling Act white paper. It consisted of different recommendations on how to improve the state in the online gambling industry. The first idea was to set the stake between £2-15 limit, but the final decision was in favor of more flexible solution.

Commenting on the latest news, gambling minister Stuart Andrew says that although many customers place safe bets every day, proofs show the gambling harm is even bigger on online slots.

According to his words, regulators are aware that young people are vulnerable so they wanted to solve that problems from their white paper.

The immense popularity of online gambling is evident, so this news will balance the online world with land-based gambling activities, as the first step for new changes coming later this year.

BGC Supports New Limits

Following the new announcement, Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) backed the new decision in the attempt to increase gambling awareness and protect players.

BGC CEO Michael Dugher says these steps will have some influence on the industry members. According to his words, everything should be taken with pinch of salt, because each decision is impacting the industry as a whole.

Source:

“UK government confirms £2 maximum stake for under 25s playing online slots”, igamingbusiness.com, February 23, 2024.