>Now and then “Samuel” is plagued by old cravings, though he says he has quit gambling for good. The 25-year-old got hooked on online betting at 17 and, at the worst point, could squander a month’s salary in minutes. He is not alone. By one estimate 29m Britons place a bet at least once a month, and hundreds of thousands have some sort of problem with it. Could new regulation help to tackle that?
>Current law on gambling was drafted nearly two decades ago for a largely bricks-and-mortar era. In the years since, with a smartphone appearing in every hand, Britain has emerged as the world’s largest regulated online betting market. Mobile bets, especially, encouraged the boom. Since 2019 at least half of online gamblers have been using smartphones. The value of the online industry (excluding the National Lottery) has soared: a measure of profit before operating costs, the gross gambling yield, reached £6.4bn in 2022, from £817m in 2009.
>Light regulation has helped the sector, but left some individuals to struggle. A recent white paper offers the government’s ideas for better protecting the likes of Samuel. Its proposals include more background checks on potentially vulnerable punters, stake limits for online slots, and a levy to fund research on limiting the harm suffered by addicts. But any law will struggle to keep up with rapid changes in how betting takes place.
>Take video gamers who buy virtual items. A study in 2021 by academics at the universities of Plymouth and Wolverhampton found that “loot boxes”—video-game purchases of a mystery selection of goods—are “psychologically akin to gambling”. Belgian authorities banned them in 2018; the Dutch will probably do so soon. British law, however, only requires companies to buy a gambling licence if such in-game items may subsequently be cashed in (these typically are not). The white paper fails to address such new forms of gambling.
>Addiction is a particularly tough challenge. Companies are adept at making powerful, habit-forming games by drawing on data that flow to developers every time a punter spins a digital wheel. They have learned what users find most gratifying; near-misses are particularly potent for problem gamblers, for instance, because the thrill of almost winning enhances dopamine transmission.
>Rates of addiction among those betting online appear to be higher than for those off. A study in 2016 by NatCen, a research institute, found 3.5% of online gamblers with problems, versus an average of 1.2% across all forms of gambling. “It’s incredibly easy to get hooked because betting is faster and more accessible,” says Samuel. Nonetheless, official proposals to address this look modest. Limits on online stakes could be set as high as £15, above existing, self-imposed caps of most operators. And because stringent background checks will probably kick in only after daily losses of £1,000 most of those at risk will not be spotted.
>A last problem concerns firms’ use of marketers. The white paper suggests such affiliates, which are not directly regulated by the Gambling Commission, bring as much as 40% of customers to online sites. In theory operators make subcontractors comply with the rules. In reality, many don’t. In 2018 the regulator fined LeoVegas, an operator, after its affiliates contacted 2,000 problem gamblers who had previously excluded themselves from marketing campaigns and betting sites. More could be done to constrain the affiliates, but a proposal from a House of Lords committee to better regulate the middle men has, so far, been ignored.
Whrn it comes to government services, we play a postcode lottery. Plus you can play the euromillions on your phone these days. Gambling is just a fact of life in 2023.
“By one estimate 29m Britons place a bet at least once a month” – Press X to doubt this is 29m unique Britons
Surprised it’s not Japan and China with their endless amounts of gacha games.
If you gave me the reins of this country for one day, I’d ban gambling entirely (including the National Lottery).
And obviously that’s just one reason why I’ll never get into any position of power… (let’s not explore the others right now.)
But I firmly believe that the gambling industry is one of the biggest acts of fraud ever perpetrated on the working class.
Hardly fucking surprising when there’s at least one gambling advert in every commercial break. “Go on, have a bet. It’s fun and everyone is doing it. It’s a great social activity that will bring you closer to your mates and not ostracise them. Go on, have a bet, you filthy coward. You can’t afford not to.”
Lost all respect for Ray Winstone for being a permanent shill for Bet365. Prick.
I like a bet. I follow horse racing pretty closely and gambling on the races so having some skin in the game keep me engaged in the sport and the whole past time more enjoyable. I don’t bet a lot, normally between £1-£5 on a race, maybe £10 on the bigger group 1 fixtures. Also it’s not really about the money, win or lose, but being involved in the racing though gambling on the outcome. All these comments calling for its outright ban need to realise the average punter is not a degenerate gambling addict but just someone who enjoys spectating competitive sports.
Ahhh it’s great to be No1 again. We also lead the developed world in having the highest rate of inflation. The Tories love the phrase “world beating” and we sure are.
Impressive given how so many people apparently can’t afford to heat the house or feed their children. Anyone would think that benefits money wasn’t being spent responsibly
Not just online. Gambling is the favourite pasttime of Sunak’s ministry. On immigration, strikes, NHS, HS2, and Brexit. It’s catering to the hard right, hoping that they make up the majority next election. They don’t: the whole lot that speeched at the NCC will be out by next year. Or so I hope. 1 day I have to stare at that racist Suella again as she spouts her xenophobia in the House and outside, is one day to many.
Luckily, with Boris and Nadine fleeing, the ‘big brexiteer flight’ has begun. I’ll bet something: the whole lot is finally realising they lost. 50 quid says Jacob follows first.
Was watching one of the Discovery channels the other night and an ad break could easily have 2 or 3 gambling adverts.
If Discovery is that bad what must some of the other channels be like.
Does this include the children gambling through “loot boxes” in videogames?
As a foreigner I was always shocked by the amount of advertisement and physical betting shops in the UK
Sky sports is all about gambling, it’s a gambling advertising channel interspersed with a bit of sport.
I wish betting exchanges were able to push out bookies and casinos; it’s a much fairer proposition for betting.
It’s feeding on people’s desperation these days. People are skint but want a cheap thrill that might also benefit them financially, which is why you have so many bookies in poor areas: they are preying on people who are desperate for a way out of poverty. They know all the tricks to suck you in and then do all they can to stop you leaving, especially if you are on a good streak.
They love to lobby the government too. Private Eye has been documenting this for months now but the Betting and Gambling Council love headhunting in Westminster and give so many MPs free tickets to sporting events. It is why any White Paper on gambling will be more flimsy than single-ply toilet paper.
Within 400 metres there is 3 on our main street..A straight street I mean.
With the amount of advertising allowed on television I’m not the least bit surprised.
Most of the companies are based in Gibralter so pay hardly any corp tax. Wonder how much they’re paying in ‘political contributions’. FFS
I read the article but its a mix up of several points.
I’ve worked in the Gambling Industry since the 80’s and yes it has changed dramatically. Back then you could not advertise your casino or bookies shop (this was pre-internet) and there were strict limits on how many outlets could open. The prevailing argument was that there was an unstimulated, inherent demand for gambling products and the outlets to service that needed to be minimal and tightly controlled….and they were.
I left the UK in 1987 and have worked abroad ever since. When I return even I am shocked at the number of Gambling adverts on TV as well as the presence in the bookies of the FOBT machines, which are essentially unlicensed, independent casinos in their own right.
The UKGC (the UK Gambling Regulator) has just issued a major white paper about new regulation which will have a massive impact on the online industry and will throttle many (well…some) …of its worst excesses…..except the cat is out of the bag now. A player who does not want to be restricted by these new rules can simply use a VPN and a pre-paid credit card (or crypto) to play at an offshore casino with none of the protections the UKGC are putting in place.
If there is one quick gain it would be to ban media gambling advertising. That would have a massive downward influence on new players picking up the habit. I sleep at night over my choice of career but at the same time it should not be forced down people’s throats….if you like to punt then punt…the demand will always be there and there is no need to push people to it during ad breaks of Corrie or Eastenders.
Increasingly more people truly believe that to do anything in this country you have to either sell drugs, have a trust fund or win a bet.
Education? Getting a good job? Starting a business? That is for mugs.
Sky Bet were letting you bet on Soccer Aid today.
Betting, on a charity match. WTF?
Australia cannot be far behind, the gambling culture there I found worrying.
Even the people we’re betting on bet. That’s dedication right there
I don’t usually watch TV especially live TV and was shocked how almost every ad was for some type of gambling site. Combine that with the loot box and other monetizing conditioning in games and kids right now are in big trouble. They’ll be trained to think it’s normal to lose money online regularly.
Smoking used to be the best method to keep the poor in poverty but it became so expensive that only the absolutely most desparate/depressed still hand over their money for cigarettes.
Online gambling has therefore served as a useful replacement – if you *have to* give the plebs a few quid in social benefit handouts and low paid jobs, there needs to be an easy way for them to hand it straight back to you.
Tax gambling winnings, limit the amount of gambling shops in any one area and ban all gambling advertisements.
27 comments
>*Vulnerable punters are poorly protected*
>Now and then “Samuel” is plagued by old cravings, though he says he has quit gambling for good. The 25-year-old got hooked on online betting at 17 and, at the worst point, could squander a month’s salary in minutes. He is not alone. By one estimate 29m Britons place a bet at least once a month, and hundreds of thousands have some sort of problem with it. Could new regulation help to tackle that?
>Current law on gambling was drafted nearly two decades ago for a largely bricks-and-mortar era. In the years since, with a smartphone appearing in every hand, Britain has emerged as the world’s largest regulated online betting market. Mobile bets, especially, encouraged the boom. Since 2019 at least half of online gamblers have been using smartphones. The value of the online industry (excluding the National Lottery) has soared: a measure of profit before operating costs, the gross gambling yield, reached £6.4bn in 2022, from £817m in 2009.
>Light regulation has helped the sector, but left some individuals to struggle. A recent white paper offers the government’s ideas for better protecting the likes of Samuel. Its proposals include more background checks on potentially vulnerable punters, stake limits for online slots, and a levy to fund research on limiting the harm suffered by addicts. But any law will struggle to keep up with rapid changes in how betting takes place.
>Take video gamers who buy virtual items. A study in 2021 by academics at the universities of Plymouth and Wolverhampton found that “loot boxes”—video-game purchases of a mystery selection of goods—are “psychologically akin to gambling”. Belgian authorities banned them in 2018; the Dutch will probably do so soon. British law, however, only requires companies to buy a gambling licence if such in-game items may subsequently be cashed in (these typically are not). The white paper fails to address such new forms of gambling.
>Addiction is a particularly tough challenge. Companies are adept at making powerful, habit-forming games by drawing on data that flow to developers every time a punter spins a digital wheel. They have learned what users find most gratifying; near-misses are particularly potent for problem gamblers, for instance, because the thrill of almost winning enhances dopamine transmission.
>Rates of addiction among those betting online appear to be higher than for those off. A study in 2016 by NatCen, a research institute, found 3.5% of online gamblers with problems, versus an average of 1.2% across all forms of gambling. “It’s incredibly easy to get hooked because betting is faster and more accessible,” says Samuel. Nonetheless, official proposals to address this look modest. Limits on online stakes could be set as high as £15, above existing, self-imposed caps of most operators. And because stringent background checks will probably kick in only after daily losses of £1,000 most of those at risk will not be spotted.
>A last problem concerns firms’ use of marketers. The white paper suggests such affiliates, which are not directly regulated by the Gambling Commission, bring as much as 40% of customers to online sites. In theory operators make subcontractors comply with the rules. In reality, many don’t. In 2018 the regulator fined LeoVegas, an operator, after its affiliates contacted 2,000 problem gamblers who had previously excluded themselves from marketing campaigns and betting sites. More could be done to constrain the affiliates, but a proposal from a House of Lords committee to better regulate the middle men has, so far, been ignored.
Whrn it comes to government services, we play a postcode lottery. Plus you can play the euromillions on your phone these days. Gambling is just a fact of life in 2023.
“By one estimate 29m Britons place a bet at least once a month” – Press X to doubt this is 29m unique Britons
Surprised it’s not Japan and China with their endless amounts of gacha games.
If you gave me the reins of this country for one day, I’d ban gambling entirely (including the National Lottery).
And obviously that’s just one reason why I’ll never get into any position of power… (let’s not explore the others right now.)
But I firmly believe that the gambling industry is one of the biggest acts of fraud ever perpetrated on the working class.
Hardly fucking surprising when there’s at least one gambling advert in every commercial break. “Go on, have a bet. It’s fun and everyone is doing it. It’s a great social activity that will bring you closer to your mates and not ostracise them. Go on, have a bet, you filthy coward. You can’t afford not to.”
Lost all respect for Ray Winstone for being a permanent shill for Bet365. Prick.
I like a bet. I follow horse racing pretty closely and gambling on the races so having some skin in the game keep me engaged in the sport and the whole past time more enjoyable. I don’t bet a lot, normally between £1-£5 on a race, maybe £10 on the bigger group 1 fixtures. Also it’s not really about the money, win or lose, but being involved in the racing though gambling on the outcome. All these comments calling for its outright ban need to realise the average punter is not a degenerate gambling addict but just someone who enjoys spectating competitive sports.
Ahhh it’s great to be No1 again. We also lead the developed world in having the highest rate of inflation. The Tories love the phrase “world beating” and we sure are.
Impressive given how so many people apparently can’t afford to heat the house or feed their children. Anyone would think that benefits money wasn’t being spent responsibly
Not just online. Gambling is the favourite pasttime of Sunak’s ministry. On immigration, strikes, NHS, HS2, and Brexit. It’s catering to the hard right, hoping that they make up the majority next election. They don’t: the whole lot that speeched at the NCC will be out by next year. Or so I hope. 1 day I have to stare at that racist Suella again as she spouts her xenophobia in the House and outside, is one day to many.
Luckily, with Boris and Nadine fleeing, the ‘big brexiteer flight’ has begun. I’ll bet something: the whole lot is finally realising they lost. 50 quid says Jacob follows first.
Was watching one of the Discovery channels the other night and an ad break could easily have 2 or 3 gambling adverts.
If Discovery is that bad what must some of the other channels be like.
Does this include the children gambling through “loot boxes” in videogames?
As a foreigner I was always shocked by the amount of advertisement and physical betting shops in the UK
Sky sports is all about gambling, it’s a gambling advertising channel interspersed with a bit of sport.
I wish betting exchanges were able to push out bookies and casinos; it’s a much fairer proposition for betting.
It’s feeding on people’s desperation these days. People are skint but want a cheap thrill that might also benefit them financially, which is why you have so many bookies in poor areas: they are preying on people who are desperate for a way out of poverty. They know all the tricks to suck you in and then do all they can to stop you leaving, especially if you are on a good streak.
They love to lobby the government too. Private Eye has been documenting this for months now but the Betting and Gambling Council love headhunting in Westminster and give so many MPs free tickets to sporting events. It is why any White Paper on gambling will be more flimsy than single-ply toilet paper.
Within 400 metres there is 3 on our main street..A straight street I mean.
With the amount of advertising allowed on television I’m not the least bit surprised.
Most of the companies are based in Gibralter so pay hardly any corp tax. Wonder how much they’re paying in ‘political contributions’. FFS
I read the article but its a mix up of several points.
I’ve worked in the Gambling Industry since the 80’s and yes it has changed dramatically. Back then you could not advertise your casino or bookies shop (this was pre-internet) and there were strict limits on how many outlets could open. The prevailing argument was that there was an unstimulated, inherent demand for gambling products and the outlets to service that needed to be minimal and tightly controlled….and they were.
I left the UK in 1987 and have worked abroad ever since. When I return even I am shocked at the number of Gambling adverts on TV as well as the presence in the bookies of the FOBT machines, which are essentially unlicensed, independent casinos in their own right.
The UKGC (the UK Gambling Regulator) has just issued a major white paper about new regulation which will have a massive impact on the online industry and will throttle many (well…some) …of its worst excesses…..except the cat is out of the bag now. A player who does not want to be restricted by these new rules can simply use a VPN and a pre-paid credit card (or crypto) to play at an offshore casino with none of the protections the UKGC are putting in place.
If there is one quick gain it would be to ban media gambling advertising. That would have a massive downward influence on new players picking up the habit. I sleep at night over my choice of career but at the same time it should not be forced down people’s throats….if you like to punt then punt…the demand will always be there and there is no need to push people to it during ad breaks of Corrie or Eastenders.
Increasingly more people truly believe that to do anything in this country you have to either sell drugs, have a trust fund or win a bet.
Education? Getting a good job? Starting a business? That is for mugs.
Sky Bet were letting you bet on Soccer Aid today.
Betting, on a charity match. WTF?
Australia cannot be far behind, the gambling culture there I found worrying.
Even the people we’re betting on bet. That’s dedication right there
I don’t usually watch TV especially live TV and was shocked how almost every ad was for some type of gambling site. Combine that with the loot box and other monetizing conditioning in games and kids right now are in big trouble. They’ll be trained to think it’s normal to lose money online regularly.
Smoking used to be the best method to keep the poor in poverty but it became so expensive that only the absolutely most desparate/depressed still hand over their money for cigarettes.
Online gambling has therefore served as a useful replacement – if you *have to* give the plebs a few quid in social benefit handouts and low paid jobs, there needs to be an easy way for them to hand it straight back to you.
Tax gambling winnings, limit the amount of gambling shops in any one area and ban all gambling advertisements.