UK government expected to announce spin limit for online slots

It’s been reported that the government will confirm a limit for online slot machines this week.

UK.- It’s widely expected that the UK government will finally confirm a spin limit for online slots, possibly bringing them in line with land-based betting machines. The Guardian has reported that the government is expected to announce the measure on Friday.

The move has been on the table for some time and was the subject of a consultation following the publication of the UK gambling white paper last April. A £2 per spin limit was imposed on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in 2019, but no limit has been applied for online slots so far, although some larger operators voluntarily impose limits.

It’s expected that there will be two different limits: £2 for under-25s and £5 for anyone older. The Guardian quoted an “industry source” as saying: “We’re expecting it to be £2 and £5. We’d be very surprised if it wasn’t.”

The restriction could cost the UK gambling industry dearly in lost revenue at a time when online gambling is growing rapidly. According to Gambling Commission statistics, online casino in the UK generated £4bn in the 12 months ending March 2023, with slots making up £3.2bn of that total.

In September, the government extended the deadline for its consultation on stake limits for online slots due to an error in data provided in the original documentation. The government had published that the UK problem gambling rate for 16 to 24-year-olds was 1.5 per cent.

However, according to data from Public Health England, this is only the rate for men. The percentage of problem gambling in this age group as a whole stands at 0.8 per cent. As a result of the error, the government put back the deadline for submissions to the consultation by two weeks until October 4.