The Guardian newspaper has reported that new stake limits for online slot games in the UK will be announced by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) this Friday 23^rd February 2024.

The stake limits will be £2 for gamblers aged between 18 and 25 and £5 for anyone over 25.

This brings the games closer in line with Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) like video roulette which operate in offline bookmakers shops, bingo halls and pubs. Maximum stakes on these games were reduced to £2 in 2019.

New limits for online slots have been expected as part of a wave of gambling industry reforms from the current government. They were one of the proposed changes outlined in the white paper published in April 2023.

A range of stake limits between £2 and £15 had been suggested, with an estimated cost to the industry of up to £185 million if a midway point of £8.50 was chosen. If reports are true then operators need to be ready to take a bigger hit from the £2 and £5 limits set to be announced.

Latest figures from the UK Gambling Commission show the importance of online slots to the gambling industry as a whole. Online casinos generated £4 billion of gross gambling revenues in the year to March 2023, of which a massive £3.2 billion came from online slots.

Whilst these are significant changes, campaigners within parliament say they do not go far enough. Carolyn Harris, chair of a cross party group who push for reform said: “I am pleased that the government has seen sense and opted for a £2 limit for people under 25. There is, however, clear evidence that a £2 limit should be in place for everyone to prevent harm. The government has sided with the industry and should rethink.”

Further reform of gambling law in the UK is expected, maybe even in the remaining time of this parliament which will draw to a close before the end of the year.

One of the stickiest areas is financial risk assessments, to be carried out for those who lose more than £125 a month or £500 a year. The subject it to be debated in parliament on Monday 26^th February following an online petition to stop them which reached 100,000 signatures last year.