Stricter Regulation on its way for UK Online Casinos

2024 has been another good year for the UK gambling industry, particularly when it comes to the online sector. Will the increased revenue figures be able to continue next year when stricter regulation of the industry is coming into force?

UK Gambling Revenue Growth

One of the leading companies in the UK is Flutter Entertainment who own businesses such as Paddy Power, PokerStars, Betfair and SkyBet. They also have huge investments in other areas of the world, especially the USA with FanDuel. Their recent financial figures saw revenue growth of 18% in the UK and for the iGaming sector, it was 29% year-on-year. Partnership deals have been signed with Games Global so all is going well.

They are not the only UK gambling company enjoying revenue growth but how long can this continue? The growth in UK’s brand new online casinos has not gone unnoticed by Downing Street and the UK Gambling Commission and there has long been talk about stricter regulation of sites, reports newsites co.uk.

The Future of Gambling: Stake Limits and Young Players

While only 0.4% of UK adults who gamble are experiencing serious gambling harm, that is still a figure that campaigners would like to see reduced. There are particular concerns over younger players in the 18-24 age range.

The charity GamCare have reported that calls made to the National Gambling Helpline have illustrated the problems that online slots in particular are causing young players. Last year a White Paper on gambling reform was published by the Conservative government.

September of this year was to see the introduction of reduced maximum stake limits for online slot games. This was delayed after Labour won power in the July General Election but the changes are now due to take place in 2025.

If a player is aged between 18 and 24, then they will not be able to place more than £2 on a single spin of an online slot game. For those who are aged 25 and over, the maximum stake limit will be £5. Campaigners had been hoping that the £2 maximum stake limit would apply to all age-groups. Perhaps that may be something which happens in the future, only time will tell.

How Will New Stake Limits Affect Online Gambling?

How will this affect UK online casinos? Slot games are a key part of their sites and the worry is that the new maximum stake limits will cause revenue figures to fall. That is what happened when similar action was taken against the fixed-odds machines that could be played in High Street bookmakers.

The Impact of the New Gambling Levy

More bad news for the UK gambling industry is the recently announced statutory levy that companies will be required to pay from next year. There are voluntary donations being made at present and the Betting and Gaming Council say these have totalled £170 million in the past four years, £50 million in 2024. However, the plan for the Labour government is to raise £100 million a year from the levy. This will be used to fund addiction treatment, research and reducing stigma levels. Labour are working with the UKGC to evaluate whether the measures in last year’s White Paper are being delivered effectively and an in-depth analysis is now underway.

This evaluation will be using data provided by the gambling industry and also consumers. A variety of research methods are being employed with the aim of not just gathering views but also receiving valuable feedback. Focus groups are to be used as well as consumer and operator surveys in addition to tracking and monitoring and interviews.

Evaluating Gambling Addiction

A ‘lived experience panel’ will also provide important information for the review. This will feature gamblers and those who have had to deal with serious problems because of their gambling. A UKGC lived experience advisory panel is already in existence and this new panel will work in conjunction with it.

The evaluation report will start soon but the results won’t be released until 2026. There has been so much discussion of gambling since the Conservatives promised gambling reform in their manifesto for the 2019 General Election.

Now Labour are in power and the Betting and Gaming Council are concerned about the new stake limits and statutory levy. They fear that the government is listening too much to the views of anti-gambling campaigners.

With other measures such as stricter affordability checks and possible action against sponsorship by gambling companies, it looks like being a worrying time for the industry. Rather than protecting gamblers, it may put them at more risk. There are fears that more players will be heading in the direction of the unlicensed and unregulated black market. That would reduce levels of customer protection and also hit the revenue figures for the licensed sites.