For customers under the age of 25, Flutter Entertainment introduces £/€500 monthly i.e. £500 (US$692) and €500 (US$593) loss limit in the United Kingdom and Ireland respectively. It is pertinent to note that Flutter entertainment is the world’s biggest online gaming company.

The limit implementation can be viewed as pre-emption by Flutter in regards to the UK government’s review of the Gambling Act in the United Kingdom. Ireland could be the next country that may experience such loss limits set by Flutter.

This is on account of statements made by President Michael Higgins with respect to the dangerous gambling advertisements and the scourge of sports gambling. The Irish Government has also started the process of establishment of a gambling regulator.

Controlled Spending

Flutter will impose a bock automatically o brands such as SkyBet, Paddy Power, and Betfair for customers under the age of 25 from losing more than amounts that are permitted per month. However, the loss limit will not affect US bands such as FOXBet, FanDuel.

Conor Grant, Head of Flutter in the UK and Ireland stated that Flutter is trying to encourage sustainable spending while further adding that there is a fine balance in dictating customers as to how to deal with their money and to provide safety net to the customers. Conor Grant added that it is expected that 5% of customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland would be affected by the setting up of the loss limits.

At a recent earnings press conference, Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter stated that wherever Flutter operates, there is always a commitment to the introduction of measures that will secure the highest standards of protection to consumers through collaborations within the industry and with regulators. He went on to state that Flutter has also worked unilaterally and gave the example of Ireland where Flutter self-imposed a credit card ban in combination with other measures.

Intrusive Checks

Apart from loss limits, regulators in the United Kingdom are potentially considering the introduction of affordability checks, in addition to other measures that could limit the gambling losses by users to £100 ($138). Users could be asked to provide proof as regards income in order to continue placing bets.

There are critics who say that these measures would be over intrusive apart from being onerous for the operators. This could adversely impact the horse racing industry in the United Kingdom to the extent of approximately £60 million ($83 million) a year as a result of income lost from levy and media rights.

The public backlash that has already existed has intensified during the pandemic against United Kingdom’s liberal gambling laws and there are fears that there has been an increase in gambling addiction, especially amongst the young population.

Flutter revenue increase

Flutter reported a 28% increase in revenue in the first six months of 2021 and revenue is at £3.1 billion ($4.29 billion). Customer-based has increased 59% during the pandemic.