While most of the new online gambling restrictions target slots, deposits and withdrawals are also affected. Reverse withdrawals, that is when you cancel withdrawal to fund your account, will also be banned.
Every operator with a UK licence will need to comply with the new directives before the 31st of October 2021.
Why Have These new Online Gambling Restrictions Introduced?
Our Sports, Tourism and Heritage Minister Nigel Huddleston told the BBC that the measures would: “help curb the intensity of online gambling, introducing greater protections that will reduce the risk of gambling-related harm“.
This focus on reducing gambling-related harm is the red thread that runs through all of the Gambling Commission’s recent restrictions, including the credit card ban in 2020.
Playing with credit cards made it possible for players to get into debts in the heat of the moment, while now, with the ban on reverse-withdrawals – we see a second clear impulse-check. If you decided to get your money out, but later just can’t stop yourself, you may be acting against your better interest.
Spin speed and unclear losses have a similar effect, in that there is more emphasis and clarity on each bet, each loss and each win. It will also make it less easy for someone to spin away at a high speed and not realizing they are close to losing it all.
New Casinos Experts Say: This is a Good and Important Move
You may see the ban on fast spin speeds and get frustrated. It’s true that this is something we will miss as well. There are clear benefits, such as the ability to hit the free spins rounds or bonus games faster. This is however the only one of the directives we think will have any negative effects on your playstyle, and more importantly: it will help vulnerable players. This is certainly a perfectly acceptable adjustment in light of reducing problematic gambling.
The other measures are on the other hand quite spectacular.
Most Welcomed Directive: The Ban On Losses Presented at Wins
Nothing is more frustrating than betting a pound, winning back 80 pence and seeing the game go nuts with the full fanfare. We didn’t win. We lost. We lost 20 pence, but the game is celebrating.
This will now stop!
We could honestly not be happier about this. From October 31st, and possibly before, we will never again feel tricked or annoyed by empty celebrations of losses.
We also love the added demand for clarity in both wins and losses. Currently, you only see what you win back. The fact that you will be able to see what you lose, or what you “really win” instead is spectacular and will change how we interact with casino games.
Will the Ban on Reverse-Withdrawals Lead to Faster Payouts?
It is frequently suspected that there are casinos that delay payouts in the hopes that players will get tired of waiting, cancel the withdrawal and keep playing. We do not want to comment on any accusations, but the ban on reverse-withdrawal will make this disingenuous practice obsolete. Even if no casino ever did this, which we doubt, the fact that this motivation is removed is a great relief.
Could this mean that casinos are losing reasons to have longer max payouts? It is certainly possible, and it would be a great side-benefit.
We Can Expect Further Directives
These new directives prove one thing, that the Gambling Commission has started to take responsible gambling more seriously than ever before.
They have even started making decisive moves against child gambling, with the announced move to raise the age limit of buying lottery tickets from 16 to 18. We have lobbied against child gambling in the UK for a long time, and while loot boxes and arcades with no age limits on slot machines should be a far greater concern, they are finally moving in the right direction. This change will come into action a month before the above directives.
There is almost speculations that there may be a ban on casinos sponsoring sports, but this has not yet been announced.. Regardless of whether this is acted upon we can expect to see more changes for UK casinos and UK players in the coming years.
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