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Mobile Gambling Restrictions Amidst
COVID-19 |
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The spread of the coronavirus
has led to a surge in traffic and popularity amongst mobile casino and betting
services as many are stuck at home during lockdown procedures, and although
lockdowns are being lifted for many, mobile gaming as a whole may have
captured a wider audience during this time. There have been some restrictions
placed on these gaming sites over time through initiatives such as Gamstop in
the UK, and spelpaus in Sweden - but there are
a host of non
spelpaus ones and sites not blocked by Gamstop, but these different
restrictions during the coronavirus were still in place.
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A £50 Limit
Amongst the restrictions
proposed, one such within the UK was a suggested cap on the daily betting
maximum as a surge of traffic hit mobile gaming services. It had been suggested
that the increasing restrictions in daily life would lead those who perhaps
wouldnt usually gamble may in fact turn to these sites and services as a
form of respite - the same group within the UK, the APPG had also been a huge
advocate in calling for regulatory changes in the gambling industry prior to
this too. This change isnt one that had been heavily enforced within the
country, but there were some operators who did get onboard and introduced some
form of limit on daily betting. This had been taken a small step further in
Sweden as a strict deposit and bonus limit are set to remain in place for the
remainder of 2020 - the weekly deposit cap had been set to the equivalent of
£400, and weekly bonuses were limited to £8 - done in an effort to
reduce gamers turning to online gambling also, but theres still the
possibility that when lockdown ends this may change.
Ad Suspension
Along with the proposed limit on a
betting cap, there had also been mounting pressure to
suspend many forms of advertising during the lockdown measures
- this is an area that had been somewhat enforced however as some of the
biggest operators within the UK would make the change - names such as Paddy
Power, Betfair, Ladbrokes, and Bet 365 all pulled their TV and radio
advertising from May 7th, expected to last six weeks at which time it would be
re-evaluated. Similar methods had also been seen in other countries but to a
larger degree - in Latvia, online gambling had been completely banned in a bid
to protect users, but had been met with some backlash. Similar news also comes
from Portugal as a short term limit to online gambling was put in place until
such time as Portugal comes out of a state of emergency.
Many of these
changes came as online gaming revenue worldwide had found a sharp growth during
the lockdown measures, and as a preventative measure to reduce the amount of
problem gamblers online, these changes are aimed at having some control over
this - whether or not these changes will help is yet to be seen, but as
lockdown measures are starting to ease there may be a small turnaround
seen.
As ever, always gamble safely and within your limits. |
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