A Look at the October 2021 Changes to Gambling Legislation
UK gambling legislation has been amended and adjusted several times over recent years. Before this, it could be argued that not enough had been done to prevent gambling problems and keep gamblers safe. However, since 2019 there have been some pretty big changes implemented by regulatory bodies that they hope have gone some way to show that the UK Gambling Commission is taking the promotion of responsible gambling seriously.
What changes have there been?
There have been some big changes to UK gambling legislation over recent years, including the 2019 changes to fixed-odds betting terminals. During these initial changes, the amount that could be placed in a single bet was reduced to a maximum of £2. Since then there have been further changes to the way that people can bet – including a ban on people being able to deposit into online betting accounts using a credit card. The idea behind these changes was to encourage responsible gambling and ensure that those who choose to bet do so in a way that is not financially damaging.
Why is legislation surrounding gambling always changing?
Legislation of this kind is put into place in order to keep people safe – and as technology is always changing the way we access online gambling opportunities, legislation needs to continuously adapt in order to keep up. One of the best examples of this is how much the world changed in 2020 and what effect this had on the gambling industry. With land-based casinos closed throughout much of 2020 and some of 2021, it stands to reason that the online gambling industry has picked up in popularity. People were driven to use online gambling platforms as an alternative and this drive in traffic to online gambling resources meant that it was important for the UK Gambling Commission to adapt legislation to keep up.
The unexpected, fast growth seen within the UK gambling industry came with a whole new set of problems that we hadn’t seen before. For example, some gambling platforms were simply not equipped with such large numbers of new customers signing up and as such, were unable to keep with compliance checks and stay on the straight and narrow. This led to some gambling brands being fined for breaches in the rules, but also for the UK Gambling Commission to take notice that some changes to legislation were needed.
What is Gambling Like in the UK?
Gambling legislation has been in place throughout the UK since 1960 – so it is no surprise that the rules have needed to be changed now and then. After all, mobile phones and the internet didn’t even exist when gambling legislation was first introduced. It was in 2005 that we started to see iGaming legislation being introduced following a big overhaul of the legislation that was in place at the time as it was largely deemed inadequate. Large changes were introduced again last year when we once again saw a change in the way people were choosing to gamble and as such, legislation needed a shakeup in order to keep up.
Changes to gambling legislations already implemented
One change that was made last year was a ban on the use of credit cards for online gambling. Evidence showed that allowing gambling to take place with deposits made from credit cards was simply allowing those that couldn’t afford to gamble money to place bets. At a time when the UK was full of people on furlough, closed industries and large numbers of redundancies it was deemed a time when responsible gambling should be more strongly encouraged. Of course, there are ways around this – such as using an e-wallet connected to your credit card, but the fact it is something not made easy helps to discourage credit card betting from taking place.
It is also now a rule that gambling companies must be registered with Gamstop – which is a self-exclusion scheme that helps problem gamblers exclude access to certain online sites should they need to.
Gambling changes in October
The end of October sees the implementation of a range of other legislation guidelines, largely based around the use of online slot machines. From the end of this month we will see:
- A ban on features that speed up gameplay
- A stop to games that give the illusion that the player has control over the outcome
- Slot spin speeds that must be 2.5 seconds or slower
- Auto-play features being banned
- Wins are no longer able to be congratulated if they are equal to or less than the players' stake
- Total losses/wins and the time a player has spent online clearly displayed
We have seen an increase in popularity surrounding online slot games so it stands to reason that gambling legislation will need to be adapted in order to keep up with this. These changes are all designed to encourage responsible gambling
Of course, some onus should also be put on players to ensure that they are placing bets responsibly. This includes using casinos that are secure and offer a safe gambling experience. Users should check out reviews of the best UK slots to find vital information like payout rates etc.
The future of UK gambling legislation
The changes coming into play at the end of October have been well received by the gambling industry, which has been keen to make changes to their platforms to operate under these guidelines even before they legally have to. Most of the gambling industry are aware that legislation is something that needs to be adapted and changed to keep up with consumer demand and as such, are well aware that we are likely to see changes again in the future.
Although it is hard to say for certain what we’ll see when it comes to UK gambling legislation in the future, rules around checking the identity of players and ensuring that affordability checks are carried out are likely to be just some of the rules that come into play in the future.
