One of the effects of the robust UK licensing regime on bingo sites and slot sites is that the games themselves, as well as the operators, have to be licensed. The UK Gambling Commission made a high profile intervention in this area last year, requiring the “buy the bonus round” feature to be removed from Extra Chilli and a number of other games as it was considered too likely to encourage problem gambling. Now, the industry standards body the BGC has stepped up to the plate.
BGC stands for Betting and Gaming Council. They are a relatively new body which was set up last year to represent all areas of the UK betting and gaming industry, online and offline, apart from lotteries. The new code of conduct which they have just published for online game design is part of their mission to ensure enjoyable, fair and safe betting and gaming for all customers; specifically, it aims to improve player safety and tackle problem gambling.
So what does this mean for players? Well, Phase 1 of the new code is in force NOW – the implementation date was 30th September 2020 – but you may not have noticed much.
Phase 2 will come into effect for new games from 31st January 2021
Two further measures are on the horizon but no timescale has yet been agreed.
Much, much more is still being examined in the BGC Innovation and Testing Lab and some of the areas they are looking at are:
While the new standards that have just come into force won’t change things much, some of the measures that are being discussed for possible future implementation – such as the possible removal of autoplay -are pretty intrusive and could substantially change the player experience. We hope they won’t end up removing all the entertainment value from slot games!
6th April 2021
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26th March 2021
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19th March 2021
11th March 2021