Casino News Round-Up: Illegal Casinos, Gaming Restrictions in Spain & More

It’s been a busy week for responsible gaming in the headlines. We’re catching up on three different stories in three different parts of the world where regulators are trying to ensure that gaming takes place in a safe fashion.

Here’s the latest:

Illegal Casino Busted In East Oakland

One of the biggest competitors to online casino gaming is the land-based variety. While most people assume that it’s just legal, licensed land-based casinos, it also encompasses underground gaming venues, which are still going strong. One big one was recently busted in Oakland.

It all started out with Oakland police going to execute a basic search warrant but it ended with the confiscation of gambling machines, drugs, guns, and $21,000. It was reported that there were 18 illegal casino machines that were seized in the process alongside eight firearms, including a few assault rifles. That wasn’t all as the police were able to grab around $76,000 worth of drugs from heroin to promethazine.

As of right now, the police have only taken one person into their custody. Their name and information have not been released to the public, but the police mentioned that their investigation is not finished yet.

Chief LeRonne Armstrong said that illegal gambling has been quite a big issue in their community but went further to say, “We will continue to do our best to address illegal gambling throughout Oakland.”

Could this lead to more legal venues opening, and further attempts to legalize online gaming?

Spain Plans To Implement Session Loss Limits In New Gaming Restrictions

Spain’s gambling regulators have been ramping up regulations to protect problem players. Many new rules for their casino players have been thrown around and now they want to share the ideas with the public in order to get a broad view of their thoughts.

One of the biggest new regulations would be that all types of players have to set a time and spending limit for every single session before they are allowed to begin playing. It should also be noted that these numbers and time limits can’t be changed once you lock them in.

Players can also expect no more encouraging messages when they lose, which is something that casinos do to keep players going. A new restriction plans to remove messages like “you were close!”, for example, to avoid persuading players to keep gambling, despite previous losses.

If you happen to be a player under the age of 25, you will be getting a lot more messages related to gambling risks in Spain. You will also be prohibited from receiving any type of perk, gift, or consideration from gambling operators, which will hamper their marketing efforts.

No More Autoplay For Slots In Ontario

Ontario players will say ‘good-bye’ to autoplay.

New gambling regulations have been released in Ontario, Canada in relation to slots. Just a week ago, their government decided to launch iGaming Ontario, which is supposed to be just a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. The goal is for this division to help limit players who are gambling beyond their means.

One of the biggest changes we’ve seen from this past week is that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation wants to shut off autoplay with slot games. Many players like this feature as it allows you to multitask while you’re playing and you don’t have to keep clicking “spin” every time. However, it can lead to bigger-than-expected losses if players aren’t paying attention. The new rules state that every individual player must be committing to each game on its own, instead of letting it run.

Spin speed on all slot machines will also stay above 2.5 seconds. Operators will be completely prohibited from attempting to lessen that speed as well. All of these moves come right after Canada passed a bill that allows players to gamble on single-event sports betting. The bill was able to flip the requirement that all bets had to be on multiple sporting events at one time.