SlotsHawk Editor Jean Prince on SIGMA and the UK Online Slots Scene

European Gaming are delighted to have with us today, Jean Prince, the UK editor of affiliate website SlotsHawk.com. In this interview, Jean will give us his thoughts on the upcoming SIGMA event in Malta as well as the current state of the gambling industry within the United Kingdom.

Thanks for joining us, Jean. First of all, could you tell our readers a little bit more about the SIGMA event, please?

SIGMA is probably the main meet up event on the calendar for all of the businesses and workers within the international iGaming industry. It is at SIGMA where affiliates, operators, CEOs and freelancers can come together to discuss ideas and come up with business plans for the future. The event also features numerous workshops from speakers within the industry (although this is rather hit and miss). It’s a great event though providing you don’t drink too much, and you attend to advance your own business or the business you work for.

We are particularly interested in the UK gambling scene, is it true that the laws are changing?

The UK government announced at the end of 2020 that they planned to update the 2005 Gambling Act so that it would be ‘’fit for the digital age’. So far, however, changes have been minimal. Although gambling operators with a foot hold in the UK are certainly lobbying MPs. Operators have already been told that autoplay on online slot machines will be banned. In 2019, credit card gambling was banned too. There is a chance that an update to the Gambling Act will chase the last of the operators away from the UK market, but the Conservative government has indicated that they will not be too draconian with the laws surrounding online gambling in the UK. The danger of too many restrictions is that players will likely end up playing at unregulated sites who do not abide by the rules enforced by the UKGC. A delicate balance needs to be ensured.

So, yes, the laws will be changing soon enough but we are unsure exactly how they will change.

We know that competition in the UK market is rife, how has the journey for SlotsHawk been?

We are a solely UK focused affiliate site, so the UK market is our top priority. We launched the site in November 2020, so we have been in the market for around a year now. Progress has been steady and without wishing to jynx things, we continue to grow month by month. You are correct in saying that competition within the UK online gambling scene is high, but there will always be room for websites which can offer punters high quality and helpful information on gambling, in our case, on online slots games. We have guides which showcase the best payout slot games as well as the slots with the highest RTP. These guides offer gamblers genuine advice on the best sorts of casino games to play. Our visitors can also read our guide to the top trustworthy slots websites which prioritise the UK online casinos which are regulated by the UKGC and offer 100% fair gameplay.

Although the competition is high, there is still room for both operators and affiliates which can offer unique and accurate information surrounding the UK gambling scene.

We have witnessed many operators leave the UK market with the reason that the UK market is no longer profitable for them. Do you think this is the beginning of the end for the UK market?

Not at all. Although the market is more restricted in comparison with other countries, the UK is still one of the biggest markets. In addition, it is also probably the safest market in the world for online gamblers. In my opinion, other countries would do well to follow the UKs example when it comes to their gambling laws. For example, the USA is the newest craze in the online gambling world, and it has the potential to be far and way the biggest gambling market ever. But these are still very early days and lawmakers have a lot of work to do. IN the UK the laws are already there, the government just need to ensure that they don’t go over the top on restrictions.

Finally, does SlotsHawk have any plans to expand into other markets?

When the time is right, we will look to expand into other markets, but for now our aim is solely focused on the UK.