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Consultation response

Online games design and reverse withdrawals

Consultation response for online games design and reverse withdrawals and proposed changes to the design of online slots.

Published
2 February 2021

Last updated
13 July 2023 - Changes

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Contents

Annex 1 – Summary of changes to RTS

Summary of changes to Remote gambling and software technical standards and testing strategy.

Slots

Casino games of a reel-based type (includes games that have non-traditional reels).

View the full remote technical standards

RTS requirement 2E

All gaming sessions must clearly display a customer’s net position, in the currency of their account or product (e.g. pounds sterling, dollar, Euro) since the session started.

RTS Implementation guidance 2E

Net position is defined as the total of all winnings minus the sum of all losses since the start of the session.

RTS requirement 8C

The gambling system must require a customer to commit to each game cycle individually. Providing auto-play for slots is not permitted.

RTS requirement 13C

The elapsed time should be displayed for the duration of the gaming session.

RTS implementation guidance 13C

  1. Time displayed should begin either when the game is opened or once play commences.
  2. Elapsed time should be displayed in seconds, minutes and hours.

RTS requirement 14B

Consumers must not be given the option to cancel their withdrawal request.

RTS implementation guidance 14B

Once a customer has made a request to withdraw funds, they should not be given the option to deposit using these funds. Operators should make the process to withdraw funds as frictionless as possible.

RTS requirement 14C

The gambling system must not offer functionality which facilitates playing multiple slots games at the same time.

RTS implementation guidance 14C

  1. Operators are not permitted to offer functionality designed to allow players to play multiple slots at the same time. This includes, but is not limited to, split screen or multi-screen functionality.
  2. Combining multiple slots titles in a way which facilitates simultaneous play is not permitted.

RTS requirement 14D

It must be a minimum of 2.5 seconds from the time a game is started until the next game cycle can be commenced. It must always be necessary to release and then depress the 'start button’ or take equivalent action to commence a game cycle.

RTS implementation guidance 14D

A game cycle starts when a player depresses the ‘start button’ or takes equivalent action to initiate the game and ends when all money or money’s worth staked or won during the game has been either lost or delivered to, or made available for collection by the player and the start button or equivalent becomes available to initiate the next game.

A player should commit to each game cycle individually, continued contact with a button, key or screen should not initiate a new game cycle.

RTS requirement 14E

The gambling system must not permit a customer to reduce the time until the result is presented.

RTS implementation guidance 14E

  1. Features such as turbo, quick spin and slam stop are not permitted. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list but to illustrate the types of features the requirement is referring to.
  2. This applies to all remote slots, regardless of game cycle speed.
  3. This requirement does not apply to bonus/feature games where an additional stake is not wagered.

RTS requirement 14F

The gambling system must not celebrate a return which is less than or equal to the total stake gambled.

RTS implementation guidance 14F

  1. By ‘celebrate’ we mean the use of auditory or visual effects that are associated with a win are not permitted for returns which are less than or equal to last total amount staked.
  2. The following items provide guidelines for reasonable steps to inform the customer of the result of their game cycle:
    1. Display of total amount awarded.
    2. Winning lines displayed for a short period of time that will be considered sufficient to inform the customer of the result. This implementation should not override any of the display requirements (as set out in RTS 7E).
    3. Brief sound to indicate the result of the game and transfer to player balance. The sound should be distinguishable to that utilised with a win above total stake.
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Annex 2 - Consumer research into auto-play
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