Online gambling as a whole is always met with different changes – both positive and negative set to either favour the casino or to favour the player. Having been a target throughout the past year with changes in the UK including a ban on credit card betting to limit the amount problem players could wager, future changes targeted specifically to UK slot machines could be on the way – although some of the announced changes may start to gradually impact other games too and as such are certainly worth knowing about. Whilst these changes won’t impact the growing number of non uk casino games, there is always the possibility of eventual regulation change further down the line too. But what are these changes?

(Image from casinotoplay.com)

The changes specifically aimed at slots are;

  • Features that aim to speed up play or features that may give the illusion of control over the outcome of a spin are to be banned.
  • Slot spin speeds faster than 2.5 seconds will also face a ban – although there’s no information on what a possible minimum or maximum is just yet.
  • Auto-play features which can lead to players losing track of time are to be removed too – this goes hand-in-hand with another change aimed at offering more transparency to play time.
  • Sounds or imagery which give the illusion of a win where the pay-out may be lower than the initial stake is to be removed too.

Other changes proposed are also aimed at online casinos in the UK in general, and aren’t only limited to slots;

  • There must be a clear display for total wins and losses during a session as well as any amount of time played – this will be introduced to slots first but is already a feature on some specific titles and will likely be one that spreads to other games too.
  • A permanent ban will be placed on reverse withdrawals – this is the ability given to players to re-gamble money that had already been requested for withdrawal, leading to additional losses.

This package of changes is to be fully implemented before the years is out with the target date of 31 October 2021, although preparations will have to be made much earlier to cover the full range of services, being likely the first of many changes too these adjustments aimed at being more consumer friendly will certainly work in benefit of the player. Slots have been the primary the target as they have the highest average losses per player for all games played at online casinos, and as such naturally are the first target for a big overhaul with other games more favourable looking to experience change further down the line in continued efforts by the gambling commission.

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