UK to Announce £2 Max Stakes on Slots In Drastic Reform

The UK government is expected Friday to set the maximum stake on online slots to £2 per spin for those younger than 25, and £5 per spin for those over 25, The Guardian reports.

Currently, there is no legal maximum stake for online slots for UK players, although some operators, including Flutter, imposed slot limits of £10 from September 2021.

The new rule is among the most drastic of options under government consideration as part of a drive to tighten regulatory controls on the online gambling industry. Anything between £2 and £15 was on the table.

White Paper

A white paper published in April 2023 set out proposals for future legislation. It estimated that a middle-range maximum stake of £8.50 would result in a £185 million financial hit to the industry.

Labour MP Carolyn Harris, who chairs the All-Party Committee on Gambling Related Harm, applauded the move, but told The Guardian it doesn’t go far enough.

I am pleased that the government has seen sense and opted for a £2 limit for people under 25,” said Harris. “There is, however, clear evidence that a £2 limit should be in place for everyone to prevent harm. The government has sided with the industry and should rethink.”

Last year, online casinos accounted for £4 billion of the UK gambling industry’s £11 billion revenue haul. Of that, just over a third, some £3.2 billion, was generated by online slots.

Affordability Checks

The white paper also recommended the introduction of affordability checks. Operators would be required to assess a customer’s “financial vulnerability” by relying on data included in credit reports, court records, such as judgments and bankruptcies, and postcode (ZIP code) statistics.

Loss thresholds are also in the cards, which could be triggered when a player loses £1,000 net within 24 hours or £2,000 within 90 days.

Operators will also have to pay a “statutory levy,” which will go to fund problem gambling programs and research. This is on top of taxes and the voluntary payments they already contribute.

Critics of tighter regulation argue that it drives vulnerable players to the black market, where there are no affordability checks, caps on stakes, or contributions to problem gambling programs.