According to a report from the U.K. Social Market Foundation (SMK), online gamblers should have a limit of £100 (US$131) a month in losses unless they are able to prove they can afford otherwise.
The proposal comes amid a push for the government to make major changes to the regulation of the gaming industry to address problem gambling. In addition to the cap on losses, SMK calls for tax breaks for firms that move onshore, limits on how much can be staked online and a regulatory shake-up, including a new ombudsman. The report also recommends online gambling be regulated like land-based bets, with a limit of between £1 and £5 on online slot machines.
“Remote gambling is on the rise, yet remains outside the same controls applied to its land-based equivalents,” said a statement from SMK.
Representing the industry, the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) countered that members already do affordability checks in some situations, according to the U.K. Guardian.
“We disagree with the suggestion of an arbitrary and random low cap on spending and can think of no other area of the economy where the government determines how much an individual can spend,” the BGC said. “Measures must be proportionate, evidence-led and fully thought through so as not to jeopardize the 100,000 jobs the industry supports. We already carry out robust and improved affordability checks, and regularly intervene on customers to ensure they gamble within their means.”
SMK echoes others who demand an overhaul of the 2005 Gambling Act, adding that changes in technology “could not have been foreseen when the legislation underpinning that regulatory framework was first drafted.”
