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Safer Gambling: UK Govt Shows its Cards on the Trajectory of Gambling Reform for Digital Age

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2023

Reading Time: 5 minutes

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has recently presented a white paper to Parliament, outlining the ill-equipped and outdated standards for protecting vulnerable players, and how they have failed to adapt to the digitalised age of gambling. There seems to be a disconnect between the technological advancements of gambling itself, and the technological advancements intended to protect its players.

According to the paper, there are an estimated 3,000,000 people in Great Britain who struggle with “problem gambling” – defined as “a degree which compromises, disrupts or damages family, personal or recreational pursuits”. The impact of problematic gambling can destroy lives and, given the impact of the current economic crisis on the lives of so many, it is imperative that the industry is supported to take on board the new approaches to gambling protocol as put forward by the white paper.

Despite the technological advancements within the industry making gambling accessible online, there is still a demand for land-based gambling enterprises such as casinos, betting shops and racecourses as they offer an authentic experience and atmosphere. Such a vivacious atmosphere cannot be emulated online which is indicative that land-based gambling sites will always be popular among players, whether regular or first-timers.

Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 (25-26 March)

The white paper acknowledges that these are subject to outdated regulations, and looks to bring these in line with the proposed changes to the online gambling reformations. These intend to enable better monitoring of land-based gambling, in the same way that controls can be placed online to help protect players wherever they play.

From betting shops to pubs with arcade machines, discover more about what the recent white paper recommends for implementing Player Protection protocols in the business and providing responsible restrictions for customers.

Player Protection

Gambling operators are responsible for identifying customers who are susceptible to harmful play and must act accordingly. However, the operators have not had to date the adequate tools or assistance in performing checks on every person that enters their premises. Technology can be utilised to aid operators in this challenging but necessary task in protecting their players.

Biometric technology can help the operator in three core tasks

1) Age Estimation to prevent underage gambling

2) Player Tracking to limit daily spend or excessive losses

3) Identifying Self-Excluded Players

Underage Gambling

In the UK, most forms of gambling are illegal for those under 18s, and the government has the intention of strengthening this further by enacting legislation to ensure consistency. Gambling organisations are obliged to have stringent procedures in place to prevent underage gambling.

Recent figures released by Serve Legal reveal a vast rise in the number of bookies preventing young people from entering their shops. Instances of betting shops carrying out spot checks on underage players have increased from 67% to 91% over the last ten years. This is a promising statistic, and concrete evidence that the new infrastructure put in place to protect players is working.

“However, there are still too many instances of insufficient age verification in some venues, particularly those such as pubs, which can offer adult-only gaming machines but are not adult-only venues like many gambling premises.” – UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2023.

To further help reduce access to premises, ICU Pro can detect if an underage person is entering the premises and send an alert to the operator. A MyCheckr can be placed at the counter to aid the till operator in estimating the age of the customer and also reduce risk of abuse in asking for ID. Analytic and appropriate advertisements is also an attractive feature of the MyCheckr and can be used both as a return on investment and a valuable tool to extract the demographics of the customer base.

Biometric technology can be also used to automate age checks at a machine. ICU Lite, for example, is a compact age estimation device that can be seamlessly integrated into existing software and machines to help businesses comply with adherence to age restrictions. Through more stringent and consistent checks it can help prevent play from vulnerable persons who are underage from accessing the machine.

This new technology gives the operator 3 touchpoints where underage gambling can be prevented, 1) at entry to the premises 2) at the counter 3) at the gaming machine itself.

Player Tracking

Under the Gambling Act 2005, the Gambling Commission was established to regulate the industry and ensure responsible gambling among both individuals and businesses involved in gambling in Great Britain. In their review, the Department of Culture and Sport worked with the Gambling Commission to develop a two-form financial check preventative procedure.

The first will be background checks for moderate levels of spend, to check for indicators of financial vulnerability such as County Court Judgements, and should occur at £125 net loss within a month or £500 within a year. The next check is for higher levels of spending, suggestive of a harmful gambling binge or irrecoverable financial losses as a result of gambling, proposed at a threshold of £1000 net loss within 24 hours or £2000 within 90 days.

Biometric technology can again help operators in this vital task. An ICU Lite can be placed in every machine. Once a player accesses the machine, their age is initially checked. If the person is overage, then their face can be converted into a FaceID. This FaceID can be anonymously linked to the session and shared with all connected machines. Information such as daily spend and losses can then be linked to this FaceID and any necessary interventions can be easily alerted to the operator.

Additionally, the FaceID of a person can be used to set tailored restrictions and can be uploaded to the operators’ database with the agreed restrictions. For each session, the FaceID can ensure that the player will adhere to playing with the restrictions they have set. The FaceID can be automatically deleted after 24 hours and as such no data is stored permanently on the device.

Self-Exclusion

The Betting and Gaming Council enforces that anyone concerned about their gambling habits can exclude themselves from on-premises gambling facilities. Self-exclusion has the potential to help those suffering from gambling addictions to have more control over their lives and build a healthier relationship with gambling.

If a player has self-excluded, the device with facial recognition technology will store that player’s information as FaceID. If the player attempts to play again, the device will detect a match on the system for an attempt of play by a person who is self-excluding and alert the operator. This intervention can occur at multiple touchpoints, such as access to the premises, at the counter or at the machine itself.

Bolstering the Gambling Commission

The white paper also discusses the powers and resources given to the Gambling Commission. The paper acknowledges the difficult feat that the Commission is faced with; in an ever-evolving industry that has long been subject to outdated regulations, there is a lot of work to be done.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport envisions a future where the Commission has greater powers as regulators of the industry and supports the Commission in gaining cooperation from operators to share data to help identify non-compliance to licence conditions.

This is made even more prevalent as the Commission has recently issued its largest fine in history. A British online gambling company was recently fined £19.2m for widespread social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures, a record-breaking figure in the UK. The organisation had previously been fined £6.2m in 2018 for the same reasons, illustrating a repeatedly negligent pattern.

Protecting vulnerable players is a vital but complex task. Operators need the right support and tools to maintain and advance player protection as technology develops. Biometric technology will play a key role in implementing these key reforms designed to improve player protection.

The future for gambling certainly looks like one of change for the better. The restrictions are there not to impede the recreational joy of gambling, but to protect those most vulnerable to addiction. As stated by MP Lucy Frazer, who penned the ministerial foreword of the white paper, “prevention of harm will always be better than a cure, so we are determined to strengthen consumer protection and prevent exploitative practices”.

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The German Games Industry Association Congratulates Winners of the German Computer Game Awards 2025

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2025

Niji Narayan

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Reading Time: 3 minutes

Outstanding games from Germany and a great show with many well-known personalities: the year’s best games made in Germany were honoured at the German Computer Game Awards 2025 (DCP) in Berlin. In the Palais am Funkturm, guests from the areas of culture, society, media, politics and the game industry celebrated the creative teams behind the high-quality games. The hosts Katrin Bauerfeind and Uke Bosse led the audience through the entertaining evening, which numerous viewers also followed via live stream.

The winner in the highest-profile category, “Best German Game,” was “Enshrouded” from the studio Keen Games. The coveted award was presented by Federal Minister for Research, Technology and Aerospace Dorothee Bär, who is responsible for computer and video games in the new Federal Government. The survival RPG game also won in the category “Best Innovation and Technology”. The award for “Studio of the Year” went to Megagon Industries from Berlin, the studio behind the successful “Lonely Mountains” games. The games community and DCP jury chose the streamer Stephan Bliemel, known as Steinwallen, “Player of the Year”. For over a decade, Steinwallen has impressively demonstrated in his video streams how history can be successfully imparted through games. Prize money totalling 800,000 euros was awarded in the framework of the DCP 2025.

The German Computer Game Awards were hosted by the German Federal Government and game – The German Games Industry Association.

“We congratulate all the award winners. Impressive variety, captivating stories and first-rate technologies: once again, on the grand stage of the German Computer Game Awards 2025, the enormous strength of German games studios was clear to see. Germany produces exciting games with world-market potential. These successes send a strong signal and show what Germany has to offer as a game production location. Together with the new Federal Government, we want to enable this creative and technological excellence to shine even more brightly on the international stage in the future,” said Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – The German Games Industry Association.

Overview of all the winners of the German Computer Game Awards 2025:

Best International Game (not endowed)

• Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)

Best German Game (endowed with 100,000 euros)

• Enshrouded (Keen Games)

The other nominees each receive 30,000:

• Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders (Megagon Industries)

• Thronefall (Grizzly Games)

Best Family Game (endowed with 40,000 euros)

• PRIM (Common Colors / Application Systems Heidelberg)

Newcomer Award – Best Debut (endowed with 60,000 euros)

• Nordhold (Stunforge / Stunforge & HypeTrain Digital)

The other nominees each receive 25,000 euros:

• Footgun: Underground (Turtle Knight Games / CobraTekku Games)

• Mindlock – The Apartment (Roof Cut Media / United Soft Media)

Newcomer Award – Best Prototype (endowed with 50,000 euros)

• Blob the Klex (Melena Dressel, Alejandro Rebolledo, Laura Octavianus / Hochschule Darmstadt)

The other nominees each receive 25,000 euros:

• MapMap – A game about Maps (HAW Hamburg / Pipapo Games)

• Stuntboost (Julian Höltge, Tobias Kozel)

• Echoes of Mora (HTW Berlin / Meike Strippel et al.)

• Exhibit A (MDH München / Olivia Falke et al.)

Best Innovation and Technology (endowed with 40,000 euros)

• Enshrouded (Keen Games)

Best Audio Design (endowed with 40,000 euros)

• ODDADA (Sven Ahlgrimm et al.)

Best Game Design (endowed with 40,000 euros)

• Thronefall (Grizzly Games)

Best Graphic Design (endowed with 40,000 euros)

• Harold Halibut (Slow Bros.)

Best Mobile Game (endowed with 40,000 euros)

• Duck Detective: The Secret Salami (Happy Broccoli Games)

Best Story (endowed with 40,000 euros)

• Vampire Therapist (Little Bat Games)

Best Serious Game (endowed with 40,000 euros)

• Deine Stimme (Sebastian Grünwald & Reality Twist / Bavarian State Centre for Political Education)

Studio of the Year (endowed with 50,000 euros)

• Megagon Industries (Berlin)

Player of the Year (not endowed)

• Steinwallen

Special Jury Award (endowed with a total of 10,000 euros; the two winners each receive 5000 euros)

• Flipper und Arcade Museum Seeligenstadt

• GAME:IN

The post The German Games Industry Association Congratulates Winners of the German Computer Game Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Slotozilla Data Report: Unveiling 2024’s Gaming Statistics

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2025

Niji Narayan

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Slotozilla is an industry-leading online casino and slot review platform. Since its inception, the company has published refreshed analyses covering iGaming operators and software – with the intent to provide accurate, informative data for all users.

Throughout 2024, Slotozilla collected relevant data pertaining to player usage of the platform. These insights unveiled clear illustrations of player preferences, gender distribution, age-related data and other appropriate gaming behaviour. The report outlines significant findings laid bare by Slotozilla’s year-long study.

Explosive Global Favourites: The Demo Slots That Dominated 2024

Clear regional preferences were brought to light during Slotozilla’s 2024 analysis, as Book of Ra dominated the European industry. Where’s the Gold represented Australia’s favourite slot, while Plinko, Wolf Run and Sizzling Hot garnered significant attention from a worldwide player base.

Sizzling Hot Deluxe earned plaudits within the French gaming arena – attaining nearly one-quarter of the nation’s demo playtime. Industry developers and operators should expect these slots to influence the iGaming scene in 2025 and beyond.

Beyond the Numbers: Surprising Engagement and Demographic Shifts Revealed

The previous year detailed a clear shift towards all-encompassing domination by particular titles and demographics. For example, Columbus proved a major hit among USA bettors – racking up an average playtime of 194.8 minutes. That figure sits far ahead of the next game in line, King of Atlantis, which garnered 72.5 minutes per average session from French users.

Similar lob-sided statistics exist when comparing gender-based play, as male German players form 73.91% of the nation’s users—potentially guiding marketing efforts.

Modern Industry Impact

Data collected by SlotoZilla evidences various marked industry shifts spanning several key demographics. The report’s holistic view of the modern iGaming industry highlights the increasing necessity for targeted marketing campaigns, relevant themes and boundary-pushing features.

Users located in Australia, Poland and Canada are notable in this regard – as players from all three vital nations tend to access online slots from the age of 25 onward. Strategies around this data are central to maintaining a robust industry.

The post Slotozilla Data Report: Unveiling 2024’s Gaming Statistics appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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BGC Raises Concerns About Potential Negative Impact of Further Tax Hike on the Gambling Industry

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2025

Niji Narayan

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has warned against further new tax rises on members, as it was confirmed Levy payments to the Horseracing Betting Levy Board are expected to increase for the fourth year in a row.

BGC members are expected to contribute a record £108m in Levy payments to the HBLB for last year, new figures reveal.

The figure, provided by the independent HBLB, is an increase of £3m on the previous year.

It is the fourth year in a row that Levy contributions have increased, from £97m in 2021/22, to £100m in 2022/2023, £105m in 2023/2024 and £108m in 2024/2025.

This increased contribution came despite a concerning fall in betting turnover, and amid threats of a further new tax hike on online sports betting.

The independent HBLB said average turnover per race was down by about 8% on 2023/24, representing a 15% fall on 2022/23 and 19% drop on 2021/22.

Meanwhile, earlier this month the Treasury announced a new tax consultation, proposing replacing the three current online betting and gaming tax rates, with a single new one, sparking fears for sports like racing.

Betting and Gaming Council CEO Grainne Hurst said: “For the fourth year running Levy contributions have increased to record levels, demonstrating the growing, long-term investment regulated betting provides British horseracing.

“But it is concerning to see once more that despite record Levy contributions, racing continues to struggle, both as a sport and as a betting product, with betting turnover down again year on year.

“BGC members remain committed fans of racing and recognise better than most the huge economic impact it makes in communities across the country.

“It’s now more important than ever this vital contribution is not undermined by further new tax rises through the creation of a single tax for online betting, which risks driving punters away from the sport, or into the arms of the growing, unsafe gambling black market.

“These parasite operators don’t pay tax, don’t care about safer gambling, and do not contribute a penny to the Levy. The BGC wants sustainable growth, for our members and for racing, but any new taxes would halt investment, hurt punters and harm racing.”

This fourth annual increase is a new record since the Levy collection reforms of 2017/18.

The post BGC Raises Concerns About Potential Negative Impact of Further Tax Hike on the Gambling Industry appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.