The online casino conundrum

In the UK, online casinos and sports betting have been an institution for centuries, since Henry Ogden became the first person to organize betting on horse racing in the late 1700's. However, despite the growing popularity, gambling, which has now morphed into an online form, has always attracted criticism for not doing enough to protect vulnerable players from falling into financial difficulties, especially in the online realm.

Although this stigma has, and most likely will, remained with the activity, online gambling continues to thrive and generate copious amounts of profit for the country, which begs the question, can we live without the online gambling industry?

Play or protect?

The bodies and organisations responsible for policing and providing legislation for the online gambling industry in the UK have a very tough assignment. There is a fine balance to strike between allowing a financial juggernaut of an industry the freedom to thrive, while also reining in said industry to protect UK citizens from potential life-damaging harm. For the government, they have investments in both arguments, but their overriding priority will always be the UK citizens. Therefore, the conundrum is what measures can be introduced to appease critics of online gambling that do not stifle the souring amount of revenue brought in by it. To play or protect is the question.

Protect players from themselves!

The answer perhaps lies in the amount players can wager. This is certainly an initiative the UK government, along with the UK Gambling Commission are going to assess from September 2024. By introducing £5 limits on online slots for players over 25, and £2 for those between 18-24, the hope is that this will provide a safe buffer for people and curb spending on online slots games. Why online slots only? Simply because it generates just over 80% of the current gross gambling yield (GGY).

There are risks associated with this initiative in that players might venture to other non-UK online casinos to play like those at the daily star, which would be detrimental to the UK economy, and keeps players at risk of financial trouble. It is a question of risk or reward for the law makers.

Keep tabs on players!

Another initiative to help prevent people from falling into financial difficulty is to implement background checks on players that incur losses that exceed a certain threshold. The "non-invasive" checks have not been well received by many who feel they are a violation of data privacy and basic human rights. The pilot project is already underway as of 1st August and until 28th February 2025, players that incur losses of more than £500 will trigger these checks. The limit falls to £150 from 28th February 2025.

Watch this space...

For all involved with the online casino industry, there is now a waiting period to see how the various initiatives laid out in this piece play out. The public have a say themselves, and a choice whether to opt-in voluntarily or not. Whatever the outcome is when the findings have been fully analysed, one thing is guaranteed; not all parties will be satisfied. Online casinos are only going to grow in stature and popularity, which could make this conundrum harder to solve.