Monthly Archives: May 2018

UK Government to introduce £2 max stake for FOBT machines, online next?

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£2 Max stake introduced by UKGCFollowing a review by the UK Gambling Commission, it today has been announced that the UK Government will introduce a £2 maximum stake for Fixed Odd Betting Machines that can be found in the UK bookmakers.

This news is, of course, to be applauded. These machines are seen as the cancer of the gambling industry. Some punters, for a long time now, have been pumping money in the bookmaker machines that they can ill afford to lose. Though there is a limit of the number of machines to be located at individual premises, there is no limit to the number of these premises on the high street. That has resulted in book makers having, sometimes, a proportional high representation on the UK high street to get round the machines per premise limit. It is not unknown to have 3 or 4 book makers within 100 yards.

Reading the above mentioned article further, the UKGC may well concentrate on online gambling next. As Chief Executive Neil McArthur said:

Whilst we welcome the reduced stake, that alone will not be enough to address the risks of harm that can come from all forms of gambling.

That is why we will continue to act in other ways to reduce those risks– including delivering enhanced consumer protection for online gambling in the areas of customer verification, fairness and interaction, implementing strong penalties for businesses who breach advertising guidelines, and reviewing gambling product characteristics to identify whether particular features pose greater risk of harm than others.

There is a hint in that quote that online gambling may well be subjected to maximum stakes in the future. The online gambler may, going forward, no longer be able to buy features on White Rabbit or Extra Chilli that can cost as much as £2,000 a time. Even spinning at a reasonable £5 stake size may be a thing of the past if the UKGC gets their way.

So there you have it. Some good news whilst at the same time us online gamblers should have our fingers crossed that some of the newly introduced measures don’t spill over to the casinos we love to play at. Freedom of choice and taking responsibility for your own actions should surely be enough?

 

Gamstop, the UK global self exclusion database

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Gamstop, the global UK self exclusion databaseIt has been a long time in the making, but it is finally here to be used for those that wish to self exclude from UK licensed casinos: Gamstop, the global UK self exclusion database.

Gamstop is the site to go to if you wish to self exclude from casinos that have their licenses issued by the UK Gambling Commission. For the moment, participation by those casinos is voluntary, but by the end of 2018 it will become a requirement of the conditions of the license.

Effectively that means that Gamstop is the place to self exclude from all casinos if you no longer wish to gamble online. It really is as simple as inputting you personal details into the site and you will be added to the global self exclusion database. The details will be passed on to the participating casinos and after a few hours you will find yourself unable to play at the them. You can select the self exclusion period from a choice of 6 months, 1 year or 5 years.

The action of self excluding can’t be undone under any circumstances so it is important to realise that once you have made the commitment to self exclude, you will no longer be able to gamble online. But that is the beauty of the tool, you no longer have to visit each casino you have an account with to self exclude. It now can be done through one reliable provider.

Gamstop is backed by the UK Gambling Commission so you can be sure your personal data is handled in accordance with the relevant UK legislation concerning data privacy.

I take responsible gambling very serious and have promoted services such as Gamban and charities such as Gambleaware before. Gamstop is a welcome addition to responsible gambling features.