The online casino industry is a fast-changing one not only in terms of innovation and technological advancement but also in terms of the law that surrounds it. Gambling has always been an object of avid discussion. Some people push for more liberty and business opportunities in gambling and others advocate for more safety and more limitations on gambling. It is these discussions that bring a wind of change into the gambling industry year after year – visit Mega Reel.
What’s changing in 2021? In this article, we present to you all the new casino site regulations that are taking effect this year.
The new Gambling Act 2021
The highly anticipated new version of the Gambling Act is being implemented this year. All gambling businesses in the UK are currently reworking their websites in line with the new regulations. All gambling businesses must complete these changes by the 31st of October.
- All games are banned from playing positive sound effects when the player loses or a zero-return outcome is achieved. According to the lawmakers, this feature makes the player believe that they have enjoyed a positive outcome when they’ve in fact lost.
- All slot games must have a gap of at least 2.5 seconds in between spins. The gambling commission argues that this way the player will be able to keep track of their bankroll more efficiently and make clearer decisions when the pace of the game is slowed down.
- The Autoplay function is being removed from all slot games. According to the authors of the new gambling act, this feature encourages mindless spending and doesn’t fit in the context of responsible gambling.
- “Reverse withdrawals” are set to be banned. This is a phenomenon when a player requests to collect their funds (pay them into their bank/PayPal account) but then changes their mind and feeds the money back into their casino account. From now on, changing your mind this way will not be possible.
- Gambling operators will have to clearly display to the player at all times the amount of time they’ve spent on the website, and the losses and the wins that they have incurred.
- The maximum bet on online slots is set for a major decrease, implemented by the end of 2021. This maximum bet is likely to be higher than the £2 maximum bet on land-based slots, but massive bets like £50 and above (that are possible today) are likely to be scrapped.
- The Turbo-play feature is set to be scrapped to slow down the gameplay and decrease the rates of spending. This decision has been made with the aim to make gambling more controlled and responsible.
- Multi-slot play is set to be scrapped. Once again, lawmakers are aiming to slow down the pace of some games with this decision. Multi-slot titles allow the player to bet on several sets of reels at the same time. The rate of spending with such games is extreme.
- Further investigations into the former VIP customers and VIP schemes are being carried out. Since September 2020, VIP schemes have been banned across all gambling businesses in the UK. According to the lawmakers, such schemes promote irresponsible gambling where some vulnerable players are being regularly rewarded for spending high amounts of money and encouraged to gamble as often as possible. VIP schemes also create some inequality in the way that customers are treated, where some of them will receive exclusive and special treatment in the form of VIP offers.
