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UK MPs Lobby for Introduction of a £2 Stake Limit for iGaming
By Jeff Osienya Nov 25, 2021 Legality160 UK Members of Parliament and a group of campaigners pen a letter to The Telegraph asking the government to introduce new reform to the gambling sector. The letter calls for a £2 stake limit for online gambling, among other restrictions.A group of over 160 cross-party UK MPs and campaigners is vehemently calling for the government to introduce a new £2 ($2.67) stake limit for internet betting games. The regiment of MPs jointly penned a letter to a local media house, The Telegraph, citing how serious a problem gambling poses for the younger generation across the region.
The Telegraph published the letter on Wednesday. In this letter, the group of cross-party MPs is pushing the UK government to show a stronger commitment to reforming gambling regulation to control the escalation of problem gambling. This letter was signed by several prominent figures in the region, such as Lord Grade, the former BBC Chairman, and Lain Duncan Smith, the former leader of the UK’s Conservative Party.
Part of the grievances discussed in the said letter includes reference to a report indicating that over 55,000 UK teens aged between 11 and 16 are currently categorized as problem gamblers. Further, this letter refers to a recent Public Health England (PHE) analysis that estimated the annual social and economic cost of gambling to be at least £1.27 billion ($1.7 billion). Some of the highlighted costs of gambling for the region include unemployment, bankruptcy, and family breakdowns.
The Betting Limits and More Proposals in the Cross-Party Letter
The main recommendation from the letter sent to The Telegraph is a tight cap of the size of online wagers and compulsory deposit limits for specific customers. Aside from the maximum £2 bet size for online wagers, the letter proposes that UK online gamblers are restricted to a maximum monthly expenditure of £100 ($133.29). Essentially, these limits to online deposit would be identical to the restrictions already established at high-street sports betting facilities.
Nonetheless, the proposal doesn’t mean that the UK online gambling space would no longer tolerate high rollers. On the contrary, gamblers who wish to enjoy higher deposit and betting limits will be required to undergo stringent affordability checks. Operators would have to thoroughly conduct the checks to ensure that players on their platforms do not end up spending more money than they can afford to lose when gambling online. In the letter, the cross-party group of MPS further recommends that the UK Gambling Commission revokes the license of any operators who do not meet the proposed requirements.
Additionally, the letter is also advocating for the complete shutdown of VIP schemes that online operators set up to offer perks to the biggest spenders on their platforms. According to the regiment of MPs rallying for tighter restrictions, the VIP-level incentives are an ‘immoral’ tactic. The letter then goes on to state the operators shouldn’t be allowed to offer valuable players special treatment compared to regular players just to get them to spend more cash on the online platforms.
Is Regulation in the UK Gambling Sector Getting Too Tight for Its Own Good?
As restrictive as the proposed measures seem, some industry analysts argue that they won’t necessarily spell doom for the thriving sector. After all, the UK is one of the most liberal and arguably the world’s best-regulated markets. These new recommendations aim to make the industry more focused on consumers and offer gamblers the most effective protection.
Let’s not forget that when the £2 stake limit was first introduced in fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in April 2019, there was a resounding outcry from industry stakeholders. Many feared that the UK gambling industry would be brought down to its knees. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the sector’s trade association, even predicted that the £2 FOBTs stake limits would have catastrophic consequences. However, two years down the line, none of the disastrous projections seem to have transpired.
According to the European Commission, Denmark is currently the only regulated gambling market where operators meet all consumer protection standards as the country follows a more restrictive approach. Whether the UK gambling sector will get to that level is up for discussion, but we will soon have an idea upon the completion of the ongoing 2005 Gambling Act review that started in December 2020.
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