Online casinos urged to bring in daily limits during Coronavirus crisis

Since the UK has been on lockdown due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a rise in the number of people gambling online due to the fact they can’t get to betting shops and the majority of major sporting events have been cancelled or postponed. For the majority of players, this is done responsibly. However there is an increased risk this period of isolation could cause players to be exposed to gambling related harm.

Online wagering limit

In order to attempt to reduce the risk of players getting into debt or gambling more than they can afford, a group of cross-party MPs have urged gambling operators to introduced a maximum daily wager of £50. They said: “We are deeply concerned that as we go deeper into this crisis, more and more people will turn to online gambling as a distraction. If the industry were to self-impose a daily limit of £50, it would be a clear demonstration that the industry is willing to act responsibly and do what they can to protect society and peoples’ finances at this dreadful time.”

As well as calling for this daily limit to be introduced, Conservative MP Duncan Smith slammed some operators for encouraging players to gamble on little-known sporting fixtures such as Japanese baseball, table tennis and online virtual sports games.

No Coronavirus marketing strategies

Aware that some gambling affiliates or smaller operators have been attempting to use the global crisis as a marketing opportunity, gambling operators have written to affiliates and advertisers to warn them not to attempt to use the Covid-19 crisis as a sales and marketing strategy and anyone caught to be doing so, will be dealt with seriously.

Whether or not the daily wagering limit will be brought into effect, remains to be seen, but it is clear that regulatory bodies are keen to ensure players are protected at all times.