Gambling operators braced for next round of tougher regulations

Some former gambling addicts and organizations that fight compulsive gambling behaviour think otherwise. They believe that tightening the rules is excellent, but it came too late.

The exact rules are not yet out, but most analysts believe that the laws will severally reduce the gamblers’ ability to bet huge amounts. It will have a huge impact that may cause the smaller operators to close down. The stricter gambling laws and the industry’s bid to clean up its image has put the £13 billion a year industry on edge. This is true, bearing in mind that the UK has the largest regulated gambling market globally.

Several operators have already started putting in place measures to limit how much players can play with across various game categories and make betting safer.

As a result, problem gambling went from 0.6% in 2020 to 0.3% in 2021. However, this seems not to have softened the hearts of the regulators in their bid to put more controls in the industry.

What Operators Have Been Affected?

Flutter, which operates SkyBet and Paddy Power, has introduced stricter rules to cut down on problem betting. This effectively lowered risks for its investments in the UK. Another gambling firm, Intain, which owns Coral Inc and 888, also experiences a slowdown of its fourth-quarter revenue in 2021 due to stricter rules in Germany and Netherlands. This shows that many European countries are reviewing their gambling rules for more controls.

Flutter has already introduced £10 stake limits for online slots and monthly spending for players under 25 to just £500. Besides, it has cut down the high gamblers in the VIP section by a whopping 94%.

Financial experts such as the Royal Bank of Canada believe that the UK gambling market will never again enjoy double-digit growth due to the rules. It added to say that investors were wary of the gambling sector due to its governance and social concerns. Some had already pulled their cash out of the industry to protect the profits they had already made

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