High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age
The register also shows enforcement history and which domains a licence covers. Licensed sites must display their licence details. Check the operator name or licence number from the site footer against the UKGC public register.
This enables the requirements to be more detailed and to be amended more quickly over time to respond to technological change or new risks to consumers. This section takes stock of the existing protections in place for online gamblers to contextualise the proposals outlined later in this chapter. Equally, customers can be easily empowered with a range of tools like financial limits which are inherently harder to implement offline.
We will use the responses to this consultation as well as wider engagement with the sector to gather data to estimate the likely uptake of additional machines and removal of existing machines under each option. These machines can also offer customers Category C or D content on the same device. Industry trade bodies have provided evidence which suggests that the removal of the 80/20 rule would result in a large-scale reduction of tablets and in-fill machines, although the extent to which tablets will be removed will vary by operator. In addition, there would be limited opportunities for operators to meet customer demand for Category B machines and increase GGY. Consequently, under Option 2 industry as a whole would have the flexibility to reduce the number of Category C and D machines and/or increase the overall number of Category B machines across the sector, saving energy and/or increasing overall GGY. It is possible that operators could use inaccessible tablets and in-fill machines to increase the overall number of Category B3 machines in their venues, undermining the principle of a balanced offer of higher and lower stake machines giving genuine choice to the customer.
Nonetheless, we and the Commission continue to monitor this closely, and as the Commission has set out, it will take further action if there is evidence to suggest the new rules have not delivered the objectives. Its additional work to ensure that where bonuses are offered, they are constructed and applied in a socially responsible manner which does not encourage excessive or intense gambling, is detailed below. The Gambling Commission will explore the evidence base on the potential impacts of a range of targeting mechanisms further through consultation, and take action if required. In recent years, a number of jurisdictions across Europe have introduced greater controls on how operators are permitted to offer bonuses. We recognise this is limited evidence, and it is important that we continue to build the evidence base around bonuses.
There will be some financial impacts for non-Bacta members which are not currently subject to the voluntary ban (Bacta represents 70% to 80% of the operators of seaside arcade/family entertainment centres where Category D cash payout slot machines are most commonly located). Preventing children interacting with adult-style, cash gambling play will reduce the opportunity for them to engage in activities which could potentially result in increased risk of harm. Putting ticket payout slot machines in this category could exacerbate the impact on seaside arcade economies by making these venues inaccessible to adults accompanied by children.
If you are leaving the British gambling market, the Gambling Commission has expectations of licensees in these situations. If you no longer need your licence, you can surrender it, partially or in full. This is a condition of your licence under LCCP Condition 8 – Display of licensed status. When you are issued a licence, we will display the details of your licence on the register. We provide details of all businesses and individuals we licence on our Public Register service.
This requirement is also subject to guidance issued by the Commission, the policy statement produced by the licensing authority and the three licensing objectives. The Council expects that applicants and existing operators will need to meet the specific GVZ policy and expect enhanced scrutiny from the Council to ensure that the operation is in line with that policy and the principles of the legislation. Westminster City Council recently introduced a new gambling policy statement which includes the designation of several Gambling Vulnerability Zones (GVZs). This enables a local planning authority (licensing authority) to take into account a variety of different factors, such as the balance of uses of an area or high street. Some submissions from licensing authorities suggested the ‘aim to permit’ provision should be removed altogether from the Act.
Local authorities (for Premises Licences).Sports/horse race betting (if regulated separately to other forms of betting)Fantasy betting (payment to back a ‘league’ or ‘portfolio’ selection over a period of time, for example in relation to sport)LotteriesLotteriesThe Gambling Commission.The Gambling Commission (for Operating Licences). The IA notes, however, that operators are less likely to be small and micro businesses due to the amount of capital and numbers of staff they need to operate. “We will now continue our work to deliver our remaining White Paper commitments, including our programme of evaluation.”
Challenges and Compliance Requirements
We recognise the importance of affiliates to operators and customers, and that the growth of affiliate marketing is by no means unique to the gambling sector. The industry body Responsible Affiliates in Gambling (RAiG) estimates that there are tens of thousands of gambling affiliates working in the GB market, the majority of which are individuals or very small businesses, and that they drive up to 40% of customer acquisition for remote operators. The evidence did not suggest that broadcast advertising which is compliant with the current, strict rules (especially following the recent updates to the CAP codes) is likely to pose an undue risk of harm, or that the benefits of any further restrictions would outweigh possible negative consequences. Alongside direct marketing and the targeting of individuals discussed above, the general gambling advertising landscape, both online and offline, attracted significant attention in submissions to the call for evidence.
This opposition was primarily from industry stakeholders, who argued that the other space requirements and the imposition of a machine to table ratio would ensure a balance between table gaming, machines and non-gambling space. For example, safer gambling functionality is now available and widely used on many gaming machines. This consultation relates to land-based gambling provided to customers in Great Britain, by operators who are consequently required to hold the appropriate licence from the Gambling Commission. The five types of licences included within this are casino premises licences, bingo premises licences, adult gaming centre premises licences, family entertainment centre premises licences, and betting premises licences. The GGY impact of this measure will depend on the take up of cashless gaming machines by operators, but also on the player protections.
“Evidence shows that reverse withdrawal functions present a risk to players because of the temptation to continue gambling,” said the Commission. The commission has been criticised by some MPs for being toothless and ill-equipped to cope with the shift online. Online slots and similar casino-style games have come to dominate Britons’ spending on gambling. According to the Gambling Commission, these slot games have by far the highest average losses per player of online gambling products.
Restrictions on supply were originally viewed as an important protection in the 2005 Act, but in the light of the availability of remote gambling the characteristics of products and quality of monitoring have assumed greater importance. The Gambling Act Review white paper published in April 2023 set out the government’s plans for modernising the regulation of gambling in Great Britain. The Gambling Commission will take a closer look at how bonuses are constructed and targeted to prevent them being used in harmful ways and its work will inform new rules to stop dangerous practices. Bonus offers, such as free bets or spins, can drive harmful behaviour and trigger people to spend more than they intended. New powers will be given to the Gambling Commission to tackle and block unlicensed black market gambling firms from operating in the United Kingdom. Only about three percent of the highest spending accounts will have more detailed checks, similar to those carried out when people buy products through online credit agencies or sign up to some mobile phone contracts.
This should ensure that consumers, particularly those who are vulnerable, are better protected from illegal operators which are unlikely to offer the same safeguards that exist on legal sites. As outlined in the consultation which preceded the uplift, some of the increase in income has been devoted to more staff that are able to both identify the scale of the black market and take action to tackle illegal operators. The Commission will need to specify to the court the operator that it would like to disrupt, evidence that it is acting illegally and explain the requirements that it would like to be imposed on the ancillary service (for example, for a payment provider to remove their payment services). These are helpful and positive steps which should make it more difficult for people to access these types of harmful websites. Google has now removed paid-for Google Ads promoting ‘Not on GAMSTOP’ affiliate sites which pose a risk to vulnerable consumers. Similarly, operators licensed in Britain could face action by the Commission if they were found to have operated illegally in the jurisdiction of one of the Commission’s international partners.
Many older Category C cabinet machines are reported to produce GGY at the lower end of that scale as they are outdated and less appealing to customers. Option 3, which would remove the ratio entirely, was the only option which generated projections of increased operator GGY from bingo club operators, arcade operators, trade bodies and gaming machine manufacturers. This was consistent across bingo club operators, arcade operators and gaming machine manufacturers. This will ensure that Category C and D machines made available by operators have genuine customer appeal and/or are genuinely available for use, as opposed to being used as a means to increase the number of Category B cabinets a venue can site. Additionally, the reform seeks to allow operators to reduce their energy costs through the removal of unused but energy intensive Category C and D machines and/or increase GGY through increased numbers of higher yielding Category B machines.
Sports with strong appeal to children and vulnerable people
The Access to Cash review, an independent study commissioned by the body that runs the UK’s ATM network, finds that cash use could fall to just 10% of all payments by 2035. Using an estimated energy cost per machine of approximately £1,600 per year, this could result in an approximate annual energy saving of £16 million to £19 million. For two key proposals where we non gamestop casino have not been able to quantify the impact due to limited evidence, we have made reasonable inferences instead.
We also acknowledge the costs, not only of servicing the older Category C and D machines, but also in making (predominantly unused) Category C/D machines available to meet ratio requirements. The Commission’s advice is that the government should always ensure there are clear rules or measures in place that ensure a balance of higher and lower stake machine games is always available in high street venues to provide genuine customer choice and allow for lower stakes gambling. Operators have also highlighted the energy and operating costs of machines, noting that older machines are less likely to be energy efficient and more likely to break down. It pointed to research from 2016 which found that 28% of patrons of retail bingo clubs who visited at least once a month played fruit or slot machines and the majority of those who played these games did so for less than 30 minutes. While machines have always been allowed to have multi-stake options, in practice, most earlier machines had a set fixed stake.
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This will take into consideration that there is likely to be diminishing returns, such that the more machines you have, the less GGY would be generated per machine. This will be used to model the estimated total increase in GGY for casinos in the final impact assessment. Combining this with the number of machines, this yields an average annual GGY of £57,500 per machine. These generate 11% of all GGY generated from Category B machines.
- Additionally, under the UK casino regulations 2026, casinos must not impose time limits shorter than 30 days on standard wagering requirements.
- A consultation on measures relating to the land-based gambling sector.
- Our guidance summarises the legal background and legislation which operators must follow to be compliant.
- Visitors of SuperCasinoSites should keep in mind gambling can be highly addictive and as such, should always be approached responsibly and with due measure.
However, this change would challenge a principle at the core of the Gambling Act, that gambling should be permitted where it is consistent with the licensing objectives and the rules set by the regulators to prevent harm. The policy statement is an opportunity for a licensing authority to identify and address gambling-related harms in its area and publish specific objectives for a locality. Our discussions with industry have included the possible mitigations that could be offered alongside side bets to reduce the risk of harm. However, we agree with the Gambling Commission’s advice that introducing a provision to allow clubs to offer bingo via social media in reliance on a land-based licence would risk subverting the intention behind such a licence and blurring the lines between remote and land-based bingo.
The Information Commissioner’s Office is the supervisory authority for data protection legislation, and maintains a full explanation of these rights on their website DCMS will ensure that we uphold your rights when processing your personal data. You have rights over your personal data under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Your data will not be transferred outside the UK. We will not use your data for any automated decision making. Your personal data will be kept for one year in line with DCMS retention policy. Information provided in response to this consultation (not including personal information) may be shared with other government departments and arm’s length bodies, such as the Department for Health and Social Care and the Gambling Commission.
Industry also argued that current numbers of machines in alcohol licensed premises would not be expected to increase substantially if the threshold were to be increased. Some parts of the industry made a case that the system for changing gaming machine numbers within individual pubs was bureaucratic. Whilst a change to the ratio does not necessarily remove these difficulties, the potential reduction in the required overall number of machines could bring about a more workable alternative, while maintaining a balance of machine types available to customers. We also expect a small increase in the number of Category B machines, particularly in licensed bingo premises where players use machines in short breaks between bingo games. We strongly encourage operators to continue to improve player safety controls on B3 machines, for example by introducing controls to alert staff where a player meets spend or time limits. The Gambling Commission’s advice points to examples of operators intentionally subverting the 80/20 rule for machine games, for example by providing inaccessible Category C and D machines in order to have more Category B machines, and to their updated guidance to operators on this issue.