New legislation proposed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in the United Kingdom is rumored to come into force this week.
The proposed limit on betting stakes for online gambling will be set to £2 according to a from the Guardian report on Thursday (Feb 22).
These limits will apply to gamblers who are 25 years and under and anyone over this age is expected to have a £5 maximum staking limit.
The Guardian estimates that £4 billion of revenue is collected each year by online casinos with slots in particular making up £3.2 billion of the electronic staking platforms intake in the UK. So this regulation would be a serious hit to the coffers of those companies.
The DCMS had published a white paper in 2023 that highlighted the need for a change in gambling reform to match the limit placed on physical or “land-based” gambling machines in the UK.
The presiding Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lucy Frazer MP would go on to say that the paper hoped to strike “the balance right between consumer freedoms and choice on the one hand, and protection from harm on the other.”
The report, published a year ago has faced pressures from groups who oppose gambling and from UK Ministers wanting to see more progress in clamping down on the amount a person can stake responsibly.
“I am pleased that the government has seen sense and opted for a £2 limit for people under 25,” said Labour MP Carolyn Harris.
The Member of Parliament for Swansea East and Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour said “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.”
UK betting opposition charity Gambling With Lives is an avid campaigner for reform in the sector and posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) about the rumored announcement;
This headline only tells half the story.
If a £5 online slot stake limit for over-25s is announced on Friday, the Government will have lost another opportunity to stop the harm caused by high stake sizes and many more people will die. #StopGamblingSuicides… pic.twitter.com/ORsx55Q9Q1
— Gambling with Lives (@GambleWithLives) February 21, 2024
Image Credit: Pexels.
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