The British government announces an upcoming £5 cap on stakes on online slots as part of plans to tighten regulation of the gambling industry.
Currently online slots are exempt from any spending limits, but the situation should change come September 2024 with the introduction of two maximum stake limits. Adults aged 25 and over will be able to make bets of up to £5 while playing online slots, while young adults aged between 18 and 25 have a maximum stake limit of £2 per spin.
Stakes below these maximum caps, which currently can reach as little as 1p per spin, should still remain available at online casinos. As the government press release puts it, “the imposed limit should serve as a maximum stake which customers can choose to stake up to, rather than as a new default which operators drive customers towards.”
Bet limits in line with land-based slots
This announcement follows a 10-week consultation period where the majority of respondents agreed with the proposal to introduce spending limits on online slots. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities points out young adults can be “particularly vulnerable” to problem gambling, while the NHS says the problem gambling rate for online slots, casino, or bingo games stands at 8.7%, one of the highest across all gambling.
That said, the limit is also in part designed to put online slots in line with their land-based equivalents. After all, the one-armed bandits you find at your local or brick-and-mortar casinos have limits as to how much you can spend per spin. Even the government admits this, as the white paper includes proposals to support the land-based casino industry.
The reaction to these limits
As one might expect, the reaction to this announcement is varied. GambleAware CEO Zoë Osmond has welcomed the limits, describing them as an “important mechanism” to help protect young adults. On the other hand, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) is warning that the industry will be impacted, even as “enhanced protections for young people” are always welcome.
The government plans to publish responses to both these spending limits and the wider gambling white paper measures sometime in the near future.
