How Will New Gambling Laws Affect Online Casinos?

Gambling legislation is the foundation of industry growth, especially in countries that were early pioneers. The UK is arguably the market leader in robust, global digital gambling regulation, ensuring that changes or adaptations to the law align with both demand and safe gambling protocols within the wider international community.

The Gambling Act of 2005, which was the first of its kind in the UK, is one of the main blueprints that other countries, states, and provinces use when constructing the framework of their own legislation. 

However, regulators within the UK have consistently moved with the times and have amended it under the recommendation of professionals and campaigners who aim to make the market fair on both ends, not limiting the person playing at the casino too strenuously but also ensuring that those companies within the business, especially some of the prominent names, don’t have free rein. It is a delicate balance.

Emphasis on Safe Gambling

One of the main challenges regulators face in the UK is the enormous nature of the online gambling industry. Many platforms operate across intercontinental lines, often with headquarters and offices littered about several different countries. This can prove to be a regulatory headache, especially when successfully implementing regulations and acting against those platforms that fall foul of them, whether intentionally or through a lack of due diligence.

Expert review sites have become the unlikely force for good in this endeavour, with many looking to develop their brands and collate the top casinos based on several key factors, such as casino withdrawal speeds, site security or the number of available gaming options. So, instead of having to seek out these platforms and try to decipher whether they rank high on specific variables, highly rated review sites do this and bring it all under one proverbial (digital) roof. 

With deep-rooted expertise and years of experience, more people are seeking the opinion of expert reviewers, but again, we recommend exploring them as a guide to help you make an informed choice. Although some fake reviews are becoming more prevalent online, especially due to automated bots and AI, it can be pretty easy to spot how a genuine casino review from an expert will differ from one that uses generic language with no real depth or substance. 

Importance of responsible gambling

While responsible gambling has always been an integral feature of any legislation or prospective changes, online casinos must ensure they are doing all they can to prevent those with potential problems from getting into serious gambling issues. 

Any reputable provider must have clear signposts for problem gambling helpdesk numbers and provide the digital tools that gamers need to measure their gambling and ensure they are sticking within their limits. The growing use of technology, particularly AI, has meant that casinos can highlight which gamblers are developing issues, and help to identify problem gambling patterns earlier, and intervene. 

The latest legislative change in the UK, which has capped online slot machine max wagers, is a step in the right direction for those campaigning for more substantial amendments to the current legislation. This change alone is set to cost online casinos over £150 million, but it is a necessary step to help problem gamblers. 

Other gambling law changes

Other fundamental changes that the government has put forward in the UK include:

• Rules to prevent bonus offers from harming vulnerable people – for example, looking at how free bets or spins are constructed and targeted to prevent them from being harmful.
• Closing loopholes to ensure under-18s cannot gamble online or via cash fruit machines.
• A new industry ombudsman to deal with disputes and rule on redress where a customer suffers losses due to an operator failing in its player protection duties.
• Extra powers for the Gambling Commission to tackle black market operators through court orders, and cooperation with internet service providers (ISPs) to take down and block illegal gambling sites.

Conclusion

As with any growing market, the online casino industry has snowballed to the extent that it can often take legislation a few years to catch up. The changes set to be brought in by the new government in the UK are set to modernise and allow a much fairer playing field, punishing those providers that are not pulling their weight, skirting legislation or not doing enough to protect people. 

Previously, this legislation was inadequate and not robust enough to scare the most prominent platforms that fall foul of it, and they were happy to pay the penalty. These recent changes should ideally usher in much-needed updates to several parts of the wider online casino industry to halt this practise.