UK Labour to propose stricter regulations for online gambling

The regulatory environment for online gambling in the UK could get a lot stricter soon. Deputy leader of the Labour party Tom Watson will ask for new laws for online casinos and bookmakers.

The Guardian reports Watson plans to make his request on February 28, and will note that current regulations are “inadequate,” and could lead to abuse and problem gambling. The current regulations stem from the Gambling Act of 2005, passed by Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair. Watson will call those laws “unfit for the digital age.”

In his proposals, Watson will want to put a limit on the amount and frequency of maximum bets, specifically in a move to bring online limits closer to those recently set for physical fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs).

He’ll also call for operators to put in a system to verify players aren’t playing with money they don’t have. This is something that has been proposed before by the Conservative government when they considered banning the use of credit cards as a payment option, for the same reasons.