Last updated: December 16, 2024
The UK is introducing strict betting limits for online slots, with a £5 cap for players 25 and older and £2 for those aged 18-24. The move aims to address problem gambling but will require operators to adjust their systems.
The United Kingdom is set to introduce severe limitations on the upper limits of allowed bets on online slot games, among other changes to its gaming rules. A question that springs to mind when one country tightens its gambling regulations is whether other countries will follow suit. It is unlikely that the United States will institute a regulatory limit on slot wagers.
Given the increasing popularity of online casino play in US jurisdictions and anticipating its growth, any jurisdiction that adopts a model similar to that followed in the UK would venture into contentious territory. Pro-gaming operators are likely to protest such limits, and they would stand a stronger chance of beating such limits here.
The governments of the United Kingdom and the United States of America exhibit significant differences. One area in which these differences are evident is their approaches to regulating gambling. The centralized regulation in the United Kingdom facilitates the imposition of stringent restrictions. In contrast, the state-by-state regulatory approach in the United States places each regulator under pressure to maintain market competitiveness with other jurisdictions.
There is little reason for iGaming licensees in the United States to be concerned about such limitations at this point. Each jurisdiction in the United States will have to decide that for itself, keeping in mind the financial pluses and minuses involved with any new iGaming regulation.
Should such changes be implemented in the United States, there would be both advantages and disadvantages for players. Although the likelihood of this policy being enacted in the United States is minimal, its potential benefits may encourage advocates for responsible gambling to monitor developments in the United Kingdom and advocate for a similar initiative.
Rob Davies of The Guardian reports that the Parliament of the United Kingdom’s Department for Culture, Media, and Sport has announced its intention to implement new restrictions on the amount of money that players may wager on individual plays in online slot games. These restrictions will be adjusted according to the age of the player.
For those participants who are at least 25 years old, the limit will be five pounds per spin. For those participants who are at least 18 but less than 25, the limit will be two pounds per spin.
This government will introduce a mandate obliging gaming licensees to fund resources that would carry out research and treatment on problem gambling; however, for users of regulated online casinos in the United Kingdom, the introduction of slot caps will be the biggest change. Operators of such casinos will also be obligated to alter their systems in the effort to comply with new regulation.
This may provoke interest among players in the United States regarding the possibility that such regulations may cross over the Atlantic Ocean. It is unlikely at this point as this is how gambling in the United States is being regulated.
Basically, the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulates gambling for the entire country. Meanwhile, Congress in the United States of America broadly allows each jurisdiction to regulate its own gaming.
Consequently, only seven US states have established regulated systems for online casino play to date, which explains the significant differences among these systems. For example, Rhode Island has successfully provided Bally’s with a monopoly on online gambling within its jurisdiction, whereas New Jersey operates an open market that offers nearly 30 brands to players.
For that reason, any endeavor to implement restrictions on slot wagers that would be applicable universally to all residents of the United States would necessitate persuading gaming regulators in all 50 states, as well as territories such as Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., regarding the merits of the proposal. Considering the existing patchwork of online gambling legislation in the United States, such unity on restrictions for online slot play appears improbable.
Even though the argument might be clearer in states where iGaming is already regulated, the balance of gaming and tax revenue produced from online slots would still present the same problem for the betting limits.
In the realm of online casino gaming, slot machines hold a position of prominence. A significant portion of the offerings in the catalogs of well-known online casinos, such as BetMGM Casino and FanDuel Casino, consists of slot games, owing to their capacity to generate the majority of player engagement.
In October 2024, in Pennsylvania, slots accounted for about eight of every ten dollars that licensees received from players. Relative to any other class of games, it is likely that licensees generally will oppose new restrictions on slots.
Such regulations could also be considered unpopular since they might imply a possible loss of tax income to governments. Such change would also bring changes and disorganizations to players in the game.
A state in the United States that enacts new restrictions, especially those which depend on the ages of players, regarding online slot play would have effects other than simply imposing lower betting limits on these games. Many games in the portfolios of online casinos would undergo dramatic changes.
The economics, and consequently the mathematics, of a slot machine with a $5 limit differ significantly from those of a machine with a considerably higher limit. The BetMGM Wheel of Fortune Triple Extreme and BetMGM Jackpots slots serve as pertinent examples of this discrepancy.
The maximum bet for BetMGM Wheel of Fortune Triple Extreme is $25,000. The maximum bet for BetMGM Jackpots is $4.50. These max bets are a guideline for different parts of the games, including max payouts.
BetMGM Wheel of Fortune Triple Extreme players can win as much as $2.5 million if they get lucky. Meanwhile, the maximum payout in BetMGM Jackpots is just under $450,000.
This is based on a fundamental principle in online slots, which is that the more one wagers, the higher the potential value of the wins that one has the opportunity to claim. In many games, access to the top paylines is only granted when the maximum bet is placed. UK Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross said the government is “committed to implementing strengthened measures for” people at risk of the harms associated with problem gambling; however, at least one expert expresses trepidation over the overall effectivity of the maximum on slot bets.
Slot wager limits could be improved Lynn Zakeri, LCSW and owner of Lynn Zakeri & Associates concludes that restrictions on slot wagers are an overall positive policy because losses to players will take over a long period. In theory, this increases the number of chances of ending games played. The potential benefits and disadvantages of this proposal are an example of the dilemma that gaming regulators must face in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Given the issues related to the imposition of limits on the size of bets for slot machines, combined with the differences in regulatory regimes, it is unlikely that American players will experience such restrictions anytime soon.
