Gambling Commission Enforces Limits For First-Time Depositors
It’s been a particularly active week for the U.K. Gambling Commission (UKGC), but perhaps the most prominent move has been enforcing mandatory stake limits for first-time depositors on Feb. 4.
The measure is yet another recommendation from the Gambling Act review white paper, published in April 2023. Already enforced rules from the review include a statutory levy which will help raise $124.4 million to fund research and support for problem gambling.
From Oct. 31, all licensees must prompt customers to set a financial limit before making their first deposit. A number of U.K. operators have similar deposit limits already in place, but this UKGC update will ensure the measure is enforced across licensed operators.
These measures aim to give players “more effective” ways to manage their gambling. This, the Commission said, will make it easier for consumers to maintain deposit limits on their online accounts.
The UKGC also confirmed it will launch a short, supplementary consultation on proposals to improve consistency and transparency.
Many U.K. Players Turn to Gambling For Escapism
Elsewhere the U.K. regulator released a number of in-depth reports which further analyze data from its Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) which provided an all-encompassing look at verticals and trends across the player landscape in July last year.
Taking a deeper look at what motivates players in the UK, a specialist report released on Feb. 5 revealed many gamblers do so for escapism or to avoid their everyday lives.
This latest report, which cites findings from the Reasons for Gambling Questionnaire (RGQ) and GSGB, considers the relationship between different gambling activities and the players’ reason for engaging in them.
The UKGC said gambling to cope and/or escape one’s daily life was most strongly associated with betting on sports and/or racing online. For those betting on sports and/or racing in person, gambling for the challenge was the most strongly associated reason for gambling.
Gambling to cope or for escapism was also the main reason for those participating in online bingo, casino and slots. Online casino had a stronger association between escapism than casino games in person (at a casino) or at a machine.
Those gambling in-person were most likely to have social motives. And players who gambled for social reasons were less likely to bet on sports and/or racing online, the data said.
Aviator LLC Drops Trademark Lawsuit against Flutter, Spribe Rebuts Claims
Flutter has reached a settlement in the $342.5 million copyright and trademark infringement case brought by Georgian game developer Aviator LLC, after it claimed the operator had infringed on its trademark by offering the hugely popular Aviator crash game.
Aviator LLC initiated its legal case against both Flutter and Spribe, the developer of the hugely popular crash game Aviator, in August in Georgia’s Court of the First Instance.
Notably, Aviator LLC is controlled by the former owner of local gambling brand Adjarabet, which was acquired by Flutter in 2019.
Aviator said Spribe’s hit game copied its trademarked image and it was therefore claiming damages. However, on February 5 Spribe hit back at Aviator LLC’s allegations, insisting they were “without merit and part of a continuing chain of bad faith actions driven by commercial opportunism.”
“The underlying purpose appears to be to dishonestly take possession of SPRIBE’s goodwill and reputation in its Aviator game and share in its financial success,” a Spribe statement read. A final hearing for the case is scheduled on Feb. 14.
Gamstop Reveals Uptick in Under-25s Self-Excluding
Gamstop, the U.K.’s national self-exclusion scheme for online gambling, has reported a 31 percent year-on-year rise in the number of people under the age of 25 registering with the service during the second half of 2024.
The latest data means that some 532,484 people have registered with Gamstop since it launched in April 2018. This accounts for more than 1 percent of the entire adult population in the U.K. Gamstop passed the 500,000-registration milestone in September last year.
The postcode area with the highest proportion of registrants was Hull, equating to 1.5 percent of the region’s total population. Teesside and Sunderland were joint second on 1.4 percent, with Doncaster and Blackpool also in the top five.
As for how long consumers are self-excluding for, 48 percent of registrants opted for five years in H2 2024. This is the longest timeframe available.
