Review of the UK’s Gambling Act 2005 to be published in 2021

The United Kingdom has the largest and the best regulated gambling market in Europe and perhaps in the world. The UK GC is watching over this burgeoning market and makes sure that land-based and online casinos operate in complete accord with the law. The goal is to protect players from harm, while creating the legal framework needed for Internet and local operators to run their businesses. Many of the current laws are based on the Gambling Act published in 2005, which was good at the time but needs an upgrade.

Restrictive measures expected in 2021

The 2005 version of the Gambling Act was good enough to regulate the industry for 15 years without major changes. It is now the time to replace it with something better and there is a great deal of uncertainty about what the new measures will bring. Gambling operators are justly afraid about these new changes because everything suggests that in 2021 many new restrictions will be added. It is hard to believe that the laws will be relaxed, or that the taxes will decrease, so there’s little reason for optimism.

Loyalty programs and casino VIP schemes from websites like playUK.com are likely to be targeted by the new changes. Casinos will be compelled to restrict them greatly and there is a chance for them to be scrapped altogether, which is downright frightening for casinos. To make matters worse, not only will gambling operators be prevented from building loyalty in this way, but they will have to deny access to certain players. Those who display erratic behavior and spend a lot of money on a short period of time will likely be limited from depositing more. The goal is to protect them from themselves, something that casinos don’t do well enough today.

Player protection is the priority

Most of the changes brought by the new gaming act are aimed at protecting the community in general and the most vulnerable individuals in particular. That’s why the self-exclusion rules are likely to be tightened and all online casinos will have to respect the decision made by individual punters. This means that if a player will decide to stop gambling, nobody will be allowed to accept his business until he changes his decision. Responsible gambling tools are currently available at online casinos, but new ones are likely to be added on the list and they will become mandatory at Internet operators.

The player protection will come in different forms, but the most effective tool is in regard to the deposits. Gambling operators will be forced to keep customer money in a different account that is not connected to the business. This is very important because if the casino goes bust, punters would still recuperate the money they invested. Once they deposit funds, the stake limits will prevent players from losing more than they can afford, while game timings will keep the gambling sessions manageable. It is also expected that the reverse withdrawals will be banned altogether in 2011, so punters won’t be tempted to use them.

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