© Provided by Evening Standard Man using smartphone for playing online casino game at home

Gambling companies are to be forced to step up checks on punters “to better protect even those unable to afford small losses” under plans to tackle addiction in the biggest shake-up of the industry’s regulations in 15 years.

Plans also include maximum stakes for online slot machines of between £2 and £15 for all customers subject to consultation and a new statutory levy which will see gambling companies required to fund more groundbreaking research, education and treatment, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said.

Ms Frazer said in a statement to the Commons: “We need a new approach that reflects that a flutter is one thing, unchecked addiction is another.

“So today we are bringing our pre-smartphone regulations into the present day with a gambling White Paper for the digital age.”

Ministers are undertaking the most comprehensive review of gambling laws in 15 years to ensure they are fit for the digital age following an explosion in online betting and a string of high-profile cases where customers have suffered huge losses or taken their own lives.

Initiated in December 2020, the much-postponed review has been supervised by four culture secretaries, six gambling ministers, and three prime ministers, and its official release stalled four times throughout government turmoil and the pandemic.

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