It’s generally quite well-accepted that mixing politics with most things can get a little messy. The more politicised an issue becomes, the more complex it is. This is something that top online casinos in the UK, as well as bookmakers in the country, are quickly discovering, as decisions made in parliament continue to shape the future of the industry, and in many cases, produce more questions than answers. 

Political Agendas 

The UK and the USA have, as Tony Blair and George Bush once famously referred to it, a ‘special relationship’. Outside of shared military and commercial interests though, there are plenty of big differences between the countries, and one of their biggest comes in their historic approaches to gambling. The USA has famously been one of the most conservative countries when it comes to betting, while the UK has sat on the opposite end of that spectrum. 

The times are changing though, and in both countries, gambling, and its legality, are quickly becoming major political issues. Political parties on both sides of the pond are likely to come under pressure from both pro-industry and pro-regulation campaigners, with gambling lobbyists potentially holding some sort of political sway in the United States. 

The UK government is constantly coming under fire regarding gambling sponsorship, especially regarding football teams and their influence on children. It has also faced regular calls for tighter controls on identification and proof of funds. 

Impact on the Customer 

You might be wondering – how are these decisions likely to impact me and my experience at top online casinos? At the time of writing, it is hard to say anything concrete, but there is plenty to suggest that online gambling in the UK will undergo some changes in the near future. 

One such change is likely to be on spending caps and player betting limits. This has been an ongoing discussion in the UK for quite some time, and politicians and the UKGC are likely to implement these kinds of laws sooner or later. As pressure mounts from anti-gambling activists and certain voices get louder in parliament, this is likely to be one of the easiest changes to implement to calm them. 

A huge discussion in the UK gambling industry, and on the internet in the UK as a whole, revolves around identification and privacy. Proof of funds checks has become a big talking point, with the UKGC regularly applying pressure on UK casinos to up their games in terms of their anti-money laundering and social responsibility checks. 

Opposition to this would argue that this level of checking into people’s financing would be intrusive and would be a breach of someone’s privacy. There is a more libertarian wing in the UK that believe these levels of checks should never even be discussed and that people should be trusted to make their own decisions. Opposition to this will quickly turn to statistics to suggest that this approach can lead to people developing gambling problems and other issues. 

A Balancing Act 

The arguments over government intervention in gambling are likely to become even more fierce in the USA. The divide between the more libertarian wing and the more conservative sides of the Republican Party has been growing for some time now, and an issue like gambling could split things even further. This means that gambling could be a major issue at elections in the US, and ultimately, when something becomes a political pawn, it is often the consumer that suffers. 

It is not just the US and the UK that are having political issues with gambling, with several European countries also highlighting issues within the industry and attempting to solve them. Finding a balancing act within the industry has always been difficult for regulators, with the line between intervention and prohibition often becoming blurred.

Constant Evolution 

The online gambling industry has never been more relevant than it is now. If history has shown us anything, it’s that the more relevant something becomes, the more politicised it is likely to get. Gambling as both a form of entertainment and a social tool will become a hot topic in the UK, USA, and Europe and customers should probably brace themselves for some changes. 

That said, opposing views can sometimes lead to political deadlock, and we could see a prolonged period of ideas being proposed and then knocked back. As the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.