Betting and Gaming Council agree ‘some betting limits are good’
As the 2005 Gambling Act is currently under review, one potential measure that could be brought in, is the introduction of monthly betting or loss limits. At present, there is no legislation on the maximum amounts you can spend in online betting sites. Individual sites will have maximum bet limits, and players themselves can set their own boundaries; either deposit limits, bet limits or loss limits.
Another possible change could be a £100 loss limit, after which, if players wanted to deposit more money, they would have to undertake further financial verification checks in order to ensure they met the criteria to spend more.
The survey says
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) recently commissioned a survey that was carried out by YouGov, to see whether the British public would be in favour of compulsory betting limits. Out of everyone surveyed, only 27% thought betting limits were a good idea. 51% opposed the idea and around 22% were undecided or had no opinion one way or the other.
Should any betting limits be introduced, one particular sector that could see a devasting impact, would be horseracing. The local racing industry alone could lose £100million every year.
Betting and Gaming Council view
Clearly there is a disparity in views and finding a balance is essential to ensure players are as best protected as possible, without destroying an industry. Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, Michael Dugher, said,
“My view is that limits are good, which is why people betting are now strongly encouraged to set their own limits on how much they spend. Affordability checks are also a good thing. But technology enables betting companies to see where customers are starting to display what we call ‘markers of harm’. In this way, potential problem gamblers and others who may be more at risk, could be subject to enhanced affordability checks.”
“Such a move would potentially also have serious ramifications for horseracing in particular, which relies heavily on the money it receives from the betting levy…. The BGC fully supports the Gambling Review and we want to see big changes, but it’s important that ministers get those changes right.”
Rogue or unlicensed betting sites
If limits introduced are deemed too low, the main concern is that players will simply find non-UK licensed casino and betting sites to play and deposit in. Although the majority of these do hold licenses from other jurisdictions and are perfectly legitimate, there will always be rogue or untrustworthy sites. Forcing players into their arms would be very harmful.
