This story was published more than 3 years ago.
The UK Gambling Commission is trying to push for a ban on the ability for punters to buy feature triggers on slot machines, claiming it puts gamblers at risk.
Feature buys allow gamblers to set off a slot's bonus mode by paying a certain amount (oftentimes 100 times the wager amount) without actually playing the game to trigger it. While the instant gratification is nice, the risk to gamblers is a lot higher, and the regulator is worried about the potential harm that could be caused.
The regulator said that every year between 250-650 people kill themselves due to gambling-related problems. Needless to say, the topic of problem betting is a big deal within the country, as more than $18 billion is spent on gambling on the country. The UKGC has worked to change betting laws in the UK, as they've successfully gotten FOBT max bets lowered from £100 to £2.
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Comments
I like the feature buy in free play mode, but there's no way in hell that I'd pay out 100x the money I wagered to get it, especially when there's such a risk of losing a large chunk of it.
sharpe
I too have never bought an instant activation feature. My initial reaction to this is to ask whether the UKGC has any evidence to back this claim up or are they flying by the seat of their pants? It may well be right but without data it is difficult to know. I can see how they would be against it based on the FOBT bet limit reductions as the buy allows a punter to effectively wager a larger amount in one hit.
That said, could the feature buys possibly reduce the time spent playing a game which is thought to be a major contributor to gambling addiction? How many people become addicted to gambling by playing for a long time building up an anticipation of triggering a feature and then getting a rush when it finally comes in? If that is even more of a problem then banning bonus features altogether would seem to be a more effective option.
It will be interesting to see how game developers react to this. They won't be able to get away with churning out boring games that subtly coerce players into buying the feature to relieve the boredom.
sharpe
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Yeah, I'd like to see the data as well. I think the UKGC does a lot of good work, but I'd like to see them act only when they know something is detrimental to players.
sharpe
Ha-ha..I see your point there Ed...from a certain perspective it's quite relevant question imho.
I'm completely agree with your assumption there.
i cant do that, prefer to play normal than buying the feature bonus because most im play with a deposit bonus, sometimes i feel good when i cant buying feature but sometimes different when im play without deposit bonus and the result was nothing so its so good if ukgc will successful with that rules..