Online slots stake limits in the UK to come into force on 9 April
Gambling minister Baroness Twycross confirms the £2 limit for young adults will be effective from 21 May, while the statutory levy comes into play from 6 April
The £5 online slots stake limit for over 25s will come into effect on 9 April with the £2 limit for young adults being enforced from 21 May, the UK gambling minister has stated.
Speaking at the Betting and Gaming Council’s (BGC) AGM today, 27 February, Baroness Twycross laid out the timelines required for operators to adhere to the new regulations.
The online slots stake limit was officially made law on Tuesday, 25 February, after the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) confirmed the proposals in November.
The £5 limits for those aged 25 and over and the £2 limit for 18 to 24-year-olds were first announced in February last year under the previous Conservative government.
Initial hopes had been for the legislation to come into effect from September 2024, but with Labour surging to power in July of that year, the plans were delayed.
The policy was born out of the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review, which was published in April 2023.
The 9 April deadline for the £5 limit forms part of a six-week transition period for UK operators to get the technical processes in place to manage the new requirements.
A further six weeks through to 21 May will allow for more time to implement the £2 limit for young adults.
Baroness Twycross said: “The online slots stake limits statutory instrument was also made into law on Tuesday. I know you are all keen to understand exactly when these stake limits will come into force.
“I know that implementing these stake limits is a technical challenge and I am grateful for all the work you have done in preparation for this moment.”
The DCMS has said the restriction could lead to an estimated decline in GGY of £166.2m. Further analysis by the government suggested just 0.06% of all spins feature stakes over £5.
Baroness Twycross also confirmed that the new statutory levy on operators’ GGR has come into law, and will start being enforced from 6 April.
Licensed operators will be required to make the first levy payment by 1 October 2025.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) was named as the prevention commissioner for the levy earlier this month.
Concluding her BGC AGM speech, Baroness Twycross also praised the Gambling Commission’s efforts to clamp down on the black market, noting that the new Crime and Policing Bill that was introduced to parliament this week will give the regulator “greater powers to move quickly and effectively to take down IP addresses and domain names”.