While the world at large has been enjoying the waves of exciting online gaming content streaming out of the iGaming industry in 2021, not everyone on the planet will continue to enjoy the same kind of access to the plethora of slots and other games on offer.
Punters in the UK are facing a changing landscape with the UK Gambling Commission having already prohibited credit cards and enforced restrictions on casino VIP schemes in 2020. Now, the UKGC has published new laws targeted at real money pokies and the iGaming industry as a whole
The Regulations
The UKGC published a series of new regulations, some of which mandate the removal of pokie features like Autospin and others that affect banking options.
The commission’s recent work has resulted in credit cards being disallowed as a method of transaction and the elimination of features that have been deemed to be misleading. Online operators have been given until 31 October to implement all the new rules.
Speed bumps
Pokies will no longer be permitted to spin faster than 2.5 seconds, as in some games, the first four reels will spin at regular speed, but if a win is more likely to occur, the fifth reel spins faster and for longer. This feature is designed to increase feelings of anticipation and expectation.
UKGC casinos will no longer carry titles that employ this feature, and speeding up play in any way, as well as creating the illusion that the punter can control the outcome, are also prohibited. This is a significant measure that affects a large percentage of pokies that offer the option to speed up the spin animation to provide an immediate spin result. From now on, all pokies will spin at a normal pace, regardless of the potential outcome of your spin, wiping out the majority of high-variance titles.
Rejected pokie and casino features
The Autospin feature is one that UK punters will likely miss most. The new regulations from the UKGC remove the option for players to set their pokies to ‘auto’, forcing them to rather press the spin button each time.
It has been pointed out that the Autospin feature does not impact the win-loss setting at all, so its removal has been characterised by some as peculiar.
Operators have also been instructed to cancel reverse withdrawals from now on. Players could previously request a withdrawal and then cancel the transaction to rather continue betting with the funds. Pokies are now also prohibited from featuring sounds and images that give the illusion of a large win, like ‘Mega Win’ or ‘Big Win’, if the actual win matches or is less than the bet amount.
Miscellaneous restrictions
Some regulations are not specifically related to pokie gameplay. For example, operators now have to display the total losses or wins and the time played during all online sessions. This regulation is aimed at operators, rather than the pokies themselves, but is a significant change, nevertheless.
Other laws take aim at practices within the iGaming industry, including VIP memberships and the methods employed to identify potential problem gamblers.
While these regulation updates only directly affect UKGC licensed operators, the regulator is a leader in international gambling regulations, so the chance that other jurisdictions may adopt similar measures is not beyond the realm of possibility.
How iGaming is affected
These new UK regulations are designed to make online gambling safer with a focus on increased player protection and addressing compulsive gambling.
The immediate effects of these will exclusively impact UK operators, but game providers may find themselves having to provide two versions of their titles as one will have to meet the UKGC requirements.
This presents a significant challenge for providers who will have to provide alternate versions of large chunks of their portfolios. Some will likely sidestep the UKGC requirements and shift their focus to offering content for offshore operators.
Over the years, The UKGC has introduced numerous regulations to protect players from the adverse effects of gambling. These include self-exclusion schemes like GamStop and strict KYC requirements.
While the agency should be applauded for its player-centric approach, the new rules may result in a situation where UK operators have severely limited offerings for players. If more regions adopt similar rules, the situation may resolve itself, but this would probably take a couple of years.
There are no existing laws that stop UK punters from gambling offshore, so the likely result is that increasing numbers of UK-based punters will sign up on websites that are licensed outside of the country.
The future
Global trends in gambling laws consistently shift and change with more regions creating regulated betting industries, while others pile on restrictions.
The UKGC’s new regulations will hopefully increase awareness and transparency around gambling practices and pitfalls and the global iGaming industry will have to adapt on its toes if it hopes to survive with its profitability intact.
