The Current State of Online Casino Gambling in the UK

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As more and more of our lives move online, our gaming is going right along. Online gambling is one of the world’s fastest growing industries, and the UK is at the heart of this industry, due by most accounts to early and intelligent regulation.

The Gambling Act of 2005 started the whole thing off in the UK, regulating and guiding what has now grown into a massive industry. What’s more, it shows no signs of slowing down.

The regulations in this industry within the UK are mainly aimed at the supply side.That is to say, the online casinos available to UK consumers. All of these need to undergo a series of codes of practice to offer their services within the UK’s bounds.

Online casino rules generally benefit the consumer

This has had a net effect of making things much, much better for savvy gamers out there. Online casinos legally available to UK players can, and must, guarantee absolute fairness as well as a very high level of security for their players due to UK regulations in place.

This includes the fact that all casinos licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) must offer gamers options for self-regulation when gaming, and links to government sites where compulsive gamers can get help quickly.

Popular misconceptions about UK online casino gambling

People have said a lot of things about how the whole business works in the UK, and, unfortunately, not all of it is true. Here are a few common misconceptions corrected, to set the record straight and make sure you have the right information.

● The UKGC is not a private entity. It is a government body. The fees and tariffs it charges become public funds.
● Casinos not licenced by the UKGC are not legal casinos within the UK.
● There is no such thing as a “waiting period” between signing up and being able to play at an online casino, as per UK authorities. This actually used to be true before 2005, but it’s old news and moreover, obsolete. Also, it was only ever true for brick-and-mortar casinos.
● You are not legally allowed to use a credit card for gambling within the UK. These were banned by the government in April 2020.

Recent changes in UK online casinolegislation

Contrary to the above, there have been some recent changes in the 2005 Act that affect online gamblers. One of them, from the year 2020, is the one mentioned just above in this article, where UK players are no longer allowed to use credit cards for deposits.

The last time there was a change to the legislation was on Aug. 6 2021. It had four key components to it affecting online players. They are:

● Slots may no longer take more than 2.5 seconds to spin
● Features that allow for faster play and auto-play features are now completely forbidden
● Also, no longer allowed at all are any types of features that make it seem that the player has any control over the outcome of the game.
● Also banned are so-called “reverse withdrawals”, where a player is encouraged to re-deposit the money after requesting a withdrawal.
● All online slots must now show at all times the total amount of time played, and the total amount of wins/losses a player has incurred.

It is recommended for players researching online casinos to go to reputable sites like Winvio in order to find out more about these issues, as new rules come into effect.

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