Latest News On The United Kingdom Gambling Commission

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) has put up laws and measures to make online games safer for gamblers. They have released a number of strict measures to strengthen protections and controls for those who gamble online. 

They have introduced limits on spin speeds and put a permanent ban on features that speed up play. The rules and regulations will not only protect and control the gamblers but will also reduce gambling addiction. They also aim at safety and fairness at UK’s best casino games. 

The Gambling Commission consulted with the public, punters, stakeholders and the gambling industry on implementing tough new player measures to reduce intensity when playing the games. 

What the Commission Focused On

The commission’s main focus was online slots because of increasing the intensity of playing and making it riskier for players. Slots have the highest losses for players, especially in online gambling. 

The new rules were aimed at removing the following key features on online slot games: 

• Any features that speed up play or control over any outcome
• Auto-play features that lead to losing track of play. Research has shown that using an autoplay feature has been linked to players losing track of their play, making it difficult to stop, resulting in addiction.
• Speeds faster than 2.5 seconds
• Sounds or images that give an illusion of a win when that is not the case. 

The commission further asked the following: 

• Operators must clearly display the losses and wins to the player and the amount of time the player has spent on the slot session. 
• Operators must remove the reverse withdrawals for all online gambling. This function usually allows players to replay on amounts previously requested to be withdrawn. Evidence has shown that the reverse withdrawal function encourages players to continue playing, posing a risk on the player. 
• There has also been a ban on using credit cards to gamble because players are using money that they don’t have to feed potential addictions. Players use debt to make their bets when they use their credit cards. 
• There are also new authentication rules in terms of identification for safety for children. 

How will changes help the population?

• Protect children and stop operators from having free-to-play games. 
• The new process speeds up the age verification speed and accuracy. 
• Operators can put spending limits in place for players based on their affordability. 

Conclusion 

All the protections announced were to be fully implemented by the 31st of October 2021. The government and some ministers welcomed the gambling commission’s decisions and strict measures after realising they were put in place to protect the citizens.