UK Online Slots Design Changes Found to Have Reduced Play Intensity

In its efforts to establish a safer gaming environment for online players, the UK Gambling Commission introduced a string of measures for online slots in October 2021. Recently, nearly two years down the line, the UK gambling regulator sought to find out the effects of those regulations on the general play experience of consumers.

Thus, the UKGC used resources from its online tracker survey to establish the impact of the measures. The research study collected quarterly data from a national sample that featured 2,000 adults above the age of 18 across Great Britain and 1,000 aged above the age of 16. Upon the publication of the survey, Tim Miller, UKGC’s Director of Policy and Research, said:

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“Our assessment of the changes to online slot games has shown indications of reduced play intensity with no significant negative impacts on play or behaviors. That’s positive, but we aren’t complacent and will continue to monitor this specific part of the sector for both any unintended circumstances or non-compliance.”

On top of pointing to a lack of harmful unintended consequences, the recently published report found that the online slot machine policy changes led to a general reduction in play intensity. Well, if we are to fully contextualize what the newly released report means, we should first take a step back and revisit the slew of reforms introduced towards the end of 2021.

What Online Slot Changes Were Introduced in 2021?

Following consultation with key gambling sector stakeholders, UK’s gambling ombudsman announced a package of strict measures that sought to strengthen protections and controls for Briton slot players.

The focus was on the fact that online slots were found to feature characteristics that enhance the intensity of play and, as such, increase the corresponding risks to the players. So, the four critical measures implemented by the gambling regulator included:

• Putting an end slot machine spin speeds that over 2.5 seconds.
• Banning slot features that speed up play as well as give the illusion of outcomes.
• A veto on auto-play features that could influence players to lose track of their progress in a game. The Commission justified this ban by saying the auto-play feature makes players lose progress and continue playing for more extended periods than they intended.
• Prohibit the sounds and in-game optics that could give the illusion of a win when in fact, the player has registered a loss.

In addition to these measures, the Commission further stipulated that slot games must conspicuously display their total losses and wins to the player during the slot gaming session.

Further, the UK gaming watchdog permanently banned the previously popular reverse withdrawals. This ban affects all forms of online gambling and is not necessarily limited to slot games. Previously, players were allowed to gamble back the funds they had initially requested to cash out from the casino lobby. This was because the Commission discovered that the withdrawal function was a significant risk to players because of the underlying temptation to continue gambling.

Alongside these measures, the UKGC also tightened regulations regarding online age and ID verification and improved customer interaction practices following the controversial ban on gambling using credit cards in the region. These changes also received backing from the executive arm of the government, with Nigel Huddleston, the then Minister for Sports, Tourism and Heritage remarking at that time:

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“Today’s steps will help curb the intensity of online gambling, introducing greater protections that will reduce the risk of gambling-related harm. I welcome the Gambling Commission’s tough measures as we continue our comprehensive review of gambling laws to make sure they’re fit for the digital age.”

A Closer Look at the Report’s Findings

Interestingly, the recently released report points to a general increase in slot play since the stringent measures were introduced. Further, the report also found that despite the regulation on the maximum spin speeds of slot games, the proportion of speeds at the highest values decreased since the changes were introduced.

Meanwhile, the proportion of sessions that lasted more than an hour also decreased in the same period. Additionally, the report also found that reported gambling on multiple games or tabs at the same time significantly went down and lacked any unintended harmful consequences.

As earlier promised, when the Commission effected the changes on slots in 2021, it will keep monitoring the results of the slot design changes and will revisit the policies should they not meet the required results. Nonetheless, with the recent findings, it is fair to say that all is going according to plan.