Slot machines have proved a great success ever since they went mainstream along with other forms of gambling . They are popular with punters and great revenue creators for the industry. However, Viking slots have also proved to be highly addictive for some and this has caused much uproar in society.
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Changes In Gambling Habits
Betting is as old as society itself but in recent years it has undergone a huge transformation. This is mostly down to the digital revolution that changed the entertainment industry back in the 1990s. This has also changed the clientele that gambling attracts. It used to be a male-dominated pass time mostly confined to betting shops, arcades and casinos. However, this online world is available to an ever-growing number of people that never used to gamble.
Online casinos have already been around for a number of years but they have become more sophisticated and much more popular with new gamblers. These sites have brought gambling to a wider audience that also includes record numbers of women. This is mainly due to technology making online casinos more accessible to the masses than they have ever been and you can also play your favourite games at home anonymously. You don’t even need a computer these days as you can spin the reels on mobile devices such as smartphones. It’s not only the availability that has caused a sharp spike in online gambling. The games are more sophisticated and entertaining too. In fact, the UK has embraced online slots in a big way.
Warning Signs
Even though the UK has one of the most regulated gambling industries in the world, it is thought that much more needs to be done to protect individuals from the dangers of gambling addiction. Following a long consultation by the UK government with the relevant bodies, a decision was made to lower the maximum bet from £200 to £2 on B2 Fixed Odds Betting Terminals that are found in betting shops up and down the UK.
This was announced on 17th May 2018 and implemented in October 2019. As expected the betting shop industry is bracing itself for large drops in revenue, possible store closures and job losses. There has already been a decline in the number of bets taken over the counter on traditional sports. This decline was however covered by the sharp increase in revenue generated by FOBTs. Now that this source of revenue is to cut, will the betting shop punters return to traditional sports betting, or play on the terminals longer than before because of the lower stakes?
More Changes Ahead
This change my temporarily bring more customers to online casinos where maximum betting restrictions have not come into force, but it is only a matter of time before more stories of addiction force changes here too. Already gambling with credit cards will be outlawed in April 2020 and it is only a matter of time when maximum bets online are drastically cut too and this could be devastating for online casinos.
