Starting next month, regulated British gambling sites will no longer be able to offer promotions that encourage players to try a different category of products. For instance, a sportsbook bonus that awards free spins on casino slots will become off-limits under the new policies, which come into effect on January 17.
The United Kingdom gambling industry is in the midst of a years-long regulatory reform. Years of relatively hands-off regulation had led to a boom, with sports betting being particularly popular. Although problem gambling rates have been stable in recent years, the perception of gambling as a public health crisis has been on the rise.
A regulatory crackdown by the Gambling Commission ensued, resulting in numerous multi-million-pound fines to some of the country’s biggest operators. Policy adjustments followed, including stake limits on fixed-odds betting terminals (similar to U.S. video lottery terminals). That caused a wave of closures in retail betting shops. Now, the online industry is in the crosshairs, with a tax increase set to go into effect in April, preceded by this change to promotional policy.
Although these changes are unpopular with operators, they will impact players as well. Bonusing is likely to be reduced across the board as operators attempt to maintain their bottom line margins in face of the higher taxes. The ban on multi-vertical promotions simultaneously eliminates one of the incentives that operators have to offer those bonuses.
What Gambling Promotions Are Becoming Illegal in the UK?
The UKGC has published an explainer for operators clarifying what promotions will and won’t be legal once the new rules come into effect. Those rules can be summarized as follows:
Bonuses for a specific type of gambling product are illegal unless the only way to qualify is by using the same product.
So, for instance, if the reward is a free bet, qualifying must be through the sportsbook only. If it’s free spins on casino games, qualifying must be through the casino only.
However, compensation in the form of generic credit for any of the company’s products is allowed. Product-specific qualifiers are also allowed, whether with generic rewards or bonuses for the same vertical. For instance, playing slots could award free spins or generic site bonus credit. If the player then chooses to spend that bonus credit in the sportsbook, that is still acceptable.
The point, it seems, is to prevent operators from using one product as a gateway to another.
That may be bad news for poker in particular, as one of its main functions from an operator’s perspective is as a relatively affordable way to build a customer database. That said, the UKGC’s documentation only lists four distinct product types: betting, casino, bingo, and lottery. A representative for the Commission confirmed to PokerScout that poker is considered a casino product in its licensing system, so offering casino bonuses to poker players is still permitted.
Even so, the new rules will make cross-marketing more difficult. That’s smart from a responsible gambling perspective, but may mean less interest from operators in online poker, bingo, and other niche products.
Sticking to One Type of Gambling May Reduce Risk
The policy isn’t coming from nowhere. Studies have repeatedly found that there’s a correlation between the number of types of gambling a person participates in and the intensity of that gambling. Relatively few people who suffer from a gambling addiction limit themselves to a single type of product.
The causal relationship is less clear. It could be as simple as that high-volume gamblers naturally tend to branch out to new forms of gambling in order to maintain the novelty. Perhaps, all other things being equal, making the occasional sports bet as a casino gambler isn’t any riskier than continuing to play slots.
Even so, the public health advice for gamblers tends to be the same as for drinkers: Don’t mix. If you get bored with the game you’re playing, step away and find something else to do, rather than moving on to another, different form of gambling.
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