UK Gambling Commission Publishes Results of Slot Restrictions

Two years ago, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission introduced a series of regulations pertaining to slot machines. Specifically, certain features and options were limited with the intention of reducing playtime and intensity.

Well, the results are in. The Commission performed a survey of 2,000 players and their playing habits. As far as we can read them, it seems only a slight decrease in intensity was noted – which seems like a disappointing result for what many perceive to be overbearing restrictions.

UK Slot Restrictions

If you’re playing online slots from the UK, you may have noticed that you don’t always have access to the same features as other players. You may even notice certain quality-of-life features missing, such as Autoplay or increasing spin speeds.

That’s because of the aforementioned restrictions. Aiming to reduce players’ ability to quickly burn through money, the Commission introduced several rules that prohibit:

• Features that speed up play
• Spin automation (Autoplay)
• Reducing the time between two spins below 2.5 seconds
• Features that give the illusion of having control over the outcome
• Any illusion of winning when the return is lower than the initial stake

In practice, two things were affected:

• Autoplay/Quickplay options are removed from UK-facing slots
• UK players cannot access Feature Buy Options. This is mostly due to the last two restrictions we mentioned.

Results of the Ban

As per the report, there was evidence of reduced intensity of play. In other words, players are spending the same amount of time playing, but they’re spending less money overall. This makes sense considering the mandatory slow-spinning reels.

The report also notes that there was no significant increase in staking activity. Despite having to play longer to achieve the same result, it seems people are sticking to their usual stakes.

Although the Commission notes that the player’s enjoyment is unaffected, other reports indicate that play sessions have increased by 10% in length.

“Our assessment of the changes to online slots games has shown indications of reduced play intensity with no significant negative impacts on play or behaviours. That’s positive, but we aren’t complacent and will continue to monitor this specific part of the sector for both any unintended circumstances, or non-compliance.”