How Will the New Maximum Stakes for Online Slots Affect Entain?
Those who visit online casinos often head to the slots section first. They are so popular and make a huge contribution to the revenue figures of leading gambling companies. That is the case with Entain who have recently released very promising financial results. The UK Gambling Commission reported last December that licensed companies made profits of £709 million from online slots last year, a rise of 15% compared to 2023. Will this continue in 2025 though?
April and May will see stricter regulation introduced in the UK regarding online slots. There have been continual concerns over how addictive they can be for players. There has not been a maximum stake limit and players can make very large losses.
A new maximum stake limit will see players aged 18-24 only able to stake a maximum £2 per spin from April. In May, players above that age range will see their maximum stake limited to £5. though many campaigners would prefer it to be the same as for younger players. How will this affect Entain who own UK gambling companies and new casinos listed at UK’s Ofersbet such as Ladbrokes and Coral?
The new measures come at a time when Entain have reported a growth in revenue figures both in the UK and Ireland and overseas. The final quarter of the 2024 financial year saw a 13% growth in revenue. Organic growth was achieved throughout their group with the increase in revenue being 7% when compared to the previous year. The good news continued with an EBITDA of £1.09 billion, a 5% rise on the 2023 results.
Interim CEO Stella David said the past year had seen “the online and retail team merged into one, a really focused leadership team.” This has made a “big difference” and they have also improved the customer experience in the past year. Online revenue figures for the UK and Ireland fared well in 2024. Revenue of £984.6 million was recorded and that was a 2.1% increase when compared to the previous year. The overall Net Gaming Revenue for this market was £2.05 billion, up 0.2% on the previous year.
When you go to UK online casinos, there is a huge range of slot games that can be played. They have a variety of themes that attract players. There are several online slots for example that are based on successful video games. ‘Tomb Raider,’ ‘Space Invaders.’ ‘Street Fighter’ and ‘Call of Duty’ have all been turned into slots that can see players win huge amounts of money. Will the introduction of new maximum stakes for these games cause Entain’s revenue figures to drop?
Their CEO does not believe this will be the case. Their online casinos are among the very best in the UK and Ireland. David is of the view that the new maximum stake limits will hit those sites that are in the second and third tier of the industry. With the Entain-owned online casinos offering a better playing experience, the CEO believes that the changes will be “a gentle tailwind” for the company.
More regulation of the UK gambling industry is on its way though. A compulsory levy is going to be introduced with funds raised being used to help those suffering from gambling harm. The total that will have to be paid will be between 0.1% and 1.1% of Gross Gambling Yield. Could more changes be on the way for online slots? Stewart Kenny is one of the founders of betting company Paddy Power but resigned from their board nine years ago, He believes further changes are required to protect gamblers. One concern he has is that the speed of the online slot games should be reduced.
In recent years other action has been taken against online slots to try and improve their safety. This included a reduction in their speed and the banning of the autoplay feature. The latter saw players able to pay in one go for a number of spins and could contribute to big losses being made.
Mr Kenny states that the gap between players making their stake and finding out if they have won anything is currently “only seconds.” With such a fast moving game, players can “repeat the dose” at a high speed. The fact that players can come close to achieving big wins is also a problem as he believes this is “fundamental to gambling addiction”.
It remains to be seen therefore whether Entain are correct in their assumption that the new maximum stakes will not affect their revenue figures and possibly even increase them.
