A maximum stake limit for online slots games in Great Britain

Following the review of the Gambling Act 2005, the gambling white paper published in April 2023 set out the government’s plans for modernising the regulation of the gambling sector.

One of the key proposals in the white paper was the introduction of a maximum stake limit for online slots games. This aligns with one of the Review’s overarching objectives, of ensuring an equitable approach to the regulation of remote and land-based gambling, and responds to the evidence of specific risks associated with the availability of high stakes play on online slots games.

The government is consulting on a stake limit of between £2 and £15 per spin and slot-specific measures to give greater protections for 18 to 24-year-olds who the evidence suggests may be a particularly vulnerable cohort. We are also seeking views on details to support the effective implementation of the policy, including the meaning of ‘online slots games’, ‘maximum stake’ and ‘spin/game cycle’.

The purpose of this consultation is to ensure that the government is able to consider the best available evidence, including on the impact of each option when finalising policy decisions.

The consultation will be open for 10 weeks, closing at 11:55pm on 4 October 2023. We encourage all those with views or evidence on the options above to make submissions via the online survey by that point.

Following the closure of the consultation, the government will publish a formal response to set out our decision and reasoning before implementing the changes.

Correction note: In Chapter 5 of the original consultation document, it was mistakenly reported that according to the Public Health England Gambling-related harms evidence review, problem gambling rates are highest in the 16 to 24 age group (at 1.5%). 1.5% is the problem gambling rate for men in that age group, rather than all respondents. The rate for all respondents in the 16 to 24 group is 0.8%. The problem gambling rate in the 16 to 24 age group according to the Health Survey England 2018 is 1.0%, which was the highest of any age group. This has been corrected in Chapter 5. The consultation deadline has been extended by 2 weeks to give respondents time to consider the correction and respond on this basis. The consultation will now close at 11:55pm on 4 October 2023. If you have already submitted a response and wish to re-submit, please email gamblingactreview@dcms.gov.uk.