A former betting boss has called for online slots to be slowed down to help them be less addictive.
Stewart Kenny – one of the founders of Irish betting giants Paddy Power in the 1980s – reckons the government need to do more to make gambling safer.
That includes reducing the speed at which online slots are spun at, which he insists are too fast and helps make them more addictive to online players.
The gambling white paper has introduced fresh measures and legislation for online play, including limits on slots which they say are “a higher-risk gambling product associated with large losses, long sessions, and binge play”.
The speed of slots was changed in 2021 by the Gambling Commission and the Department for Culture Media and Sport said: “This included a minimum speed of 2.5 seconds per spin, a ban on autoplay and features that increase play intensity, such as turbo, quick spin and slam stop, or give the illusion of ‘false wins’.”
Kenny, who resigned from the board of Flutter – the company which owns Paddy Power and Betfair after their merger – stepped aside from his role as he felt the company wasn’t protecting vulnerable customers.
He told a BBC documentary named Changing the Odds that the short time between stake and winnings being “only seconds” aids the bettor to “repeat the dose” at high speed, on games that have “plenty of noise and colours”.
A combination of those and “near misses” are seen as “fundamental to gambling addiction”.
Kenny – who admits being a sports betting man himself – believes the problem lies with the legislators and not the gambling companies themselves as he called for further changes.
He told the doc: “I have always said I have been very relaxed about my kids opening up betting accounts. But, I would be horrified if my grandchildren open up a betting account.
Read more betting news
“What the bookmakers do is, when you open a betting account at the age of 18 to have a bet, and you’re a kid and you want to have a fiver on your local team, within 48 hours, the bookmakers will try and suck you into the highly addictive online casino by sending you free spins.
“There’s a balance here. If you want to bet, you should be allowed to bet. It’s a free society. So you don’t want to interfere with people’s entertainment too much. It’s so easy to blame the betting companies. This is a matter for legislators.”
In response to the comments, Flutter said the company had “evolved significantly in the years since Stewart’s involvement, which ended over eight years ago” but also “were pleased that some of these measures were publicly praised by Stewart as we respect his views.”
The Betting and Gaming Council added: “Each month, around 22.5 million people in Britain enjoy a bet and the overwhelming majority do so safely and responsibly.
“The BGC supported plans to reform stake limits and introduce a mandatory levy to fund research, prevention and treatment.
“The white paper is a once-in-a-generation moment for change and the proposals contained in it must draw a line under the lengthy and often polarised debates on gambling.”
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- Gamcare – gamcare.org.uk
- GambleAware – GambleAware.org
Read our guide on responsible gambling practices.
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
