UKGC Announces Measures for Making Online Slots Safer

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission has announced that the regulatory body has prepared a package of strict measures and controls for players that play and gamble on online slot games.

These measures all include spin speeds limits and ban on features that speed up play or celebrate losses.

Focus on Slots

After a lengthy consultation with the public, stakeholders and players…

…the UKGC has decided that gambling operators will have to implement new, strict player control measures that will make casino games “less intensive” and safer by design, while handing players more control over their gambling.

The Commission has focused on online slots because its features tend to have features that increase gameplay intensity, also increasing player risk.

Slots have the highest average loss per player of all online gambling products.

New rules ban these four key features of all online slots:

• Features that speed up play or give the illusion of control over the outcome
• Slot spin speeds faster than 2.5 seconds
• Auto-play - which can lead to players losing track of their play, and;
• Sounds or imagery which give the illusion of a win when the return is in fact equal to, or below, a stake

Strict Rules

Other UKGC changes include:

• Operators must clearly display to the player their total losses or wins and time played during any online slots session.
• Alongside the changes for online slots the Commission has also introduced a permanent ban on reverse withdrawals for all online gambling – this function previously allowed consumers to re-gamble money they had previously requested to withdraw.

These new rules are a part of regulator’s comprehensive program for making gambling fairer and safer. It has also seen the introduction of new protections around online age and ID verification as well as improved interaction practices.

UKGC’s CEO, Neil McArthur, comments:

“To make online games safer we are introducing a ban on features that speed up play, or give the illusion of control over the outcome. We are also introducing a ban on auto-play, losses disguised as wins, and slot spin speeds faster than 2.5 seconds. The evidence shows that these features increase the risk of harm to customers.”

He added that this marks an important step for safer online gambling and that the regulator is determined to take new opportunities to make it so, should they arise.

Source:

“Gambling Commission announces package of changes which make online games safer by design”, gamblingcommission.gov.uk, January 2nd, 2021.