SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) has welcomed new safer gameplay and design rules on slots sanctioned yesterday by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
From the 31 October, the UKGC will enforce new measures banning, online slots’ autoplay and quickspin gameplay, whilst also prohibiting game design features such as images and sounds that ‘celebrate losses as wins’.
The BGC maintains that its members are ‘determined to drive change and promote safer gambling’ having previously committed to abide by new joint standards on game designs introduced last September by the BGC as part of its members’ new ‘Code of Conduct’.
“BGC members have already introduced measures including the slowing down of spin speeds and banning several gaming features which have caused concern,” stated Michael Dugher chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council,
“Among the major commitments we have already introduced are minimum game cycle speeds of 2.5 seconds, the ending of turbo play, which allows players to speed up games, and the scrapping of multi-slot play, where a player can place multiple stakes on different games at the same time.”
Supporting further changes, the BGC states that its members are now focused on improving ‘game labelling’ in order to educate players on key online casino game characteristics and risks.
The BGC reiterates its previous warnings to the Gambling Commission and government that the industry’s biggest threat remains unlicensed black market operators targeting UK consumers.
“None of these new changes apply to the unsafe, unregulated black market online, but the BGC will work with the regulator, academics, consumers and individuals with lived experience of betting-related harm to identify further best practice in game design going forward, to ensure we keep up to date with changes in technology,” Dugher added closing the BGC’s statement.
