UK MPs call for £2 stake limit for online casinos

A new report released by a group of MPs calls for online casino sites to be subject to the same £2 stake limit as fixed odds betting terminals. The proposed changes would radically decrease the ceiling for how much you can wager on all online slot and casino games, which could mean lower jackpots.

The Gambling Related Harm All-Party Parliamentary Group (GRH APPG) has proposed these changes whilst also suggesting a restriction on VIP accounts and a ban on betting with credit cards. These changes are designed to protect online gambling players, which the GRH APPG claims the Gambling Commission and GambleAware are failing do to so, calling them “not fit for purpose.”

Since the report was released, the Gambling Commission has voiced its disappointment in the group of cross-party MPs for publishing an interim report without having approached them for evidence in the six months that they have been working on it. The APPG says they will be working with the Commission before publishing a full report.

The Commission’s Chief Executive Neil McArthur recently gave a speech in London where he said “we are looking closely at the case for introducing further protections for consumers online and this includes the evidence for imposing stake limits online as a means of further reducing the risk of harm.”

The GRH APPG not taking these comments into consideration when releasing the report has been described by a Commission spokesman as “disappointing.”

Until the full report is released we do not know what the outcome will be or whether these proposed changes will be adopted. The proposed ban on credit card deposits would be a positive step towards protecting vulnerable players from spending outside of their means.