The impact of Legislative Decree 1729 on online slot machines

The Legislative Decree 1729 has introduced a relevant rule for e-commerce: practices that, through interface design, limit or manipulate the consumer’s freedom of choice are now prohibited. The uncomfortable question is this: what happens if, in an online slot machine, the bet displayed upon entry is not the minimum available? And, in addition:

The lowest bet is not clearly shown on screen.

The button to reduce the amount is not intuitive.

Several steps are required to reach the minimum.

The visual design prioritizes a mid-range or high bet.

Technically, the player can lower the bet. But… do they know it? Do they understand it? Can they do it easily? The new subparagraph (h) of Article 56.1 of the Consumer Protection Code does not sanction the amount itself, but rather the design that distorts the player’s autonomy. In the digital environment, coercion is no longer always an insistent phone call or an abusive clause. It can be a subtle cursor, a hidden option, or asymmetric friction.

This is not about prohibiting business freedom. It is about preventing digital design from becoming a tool of disguised economic pressure. Perhaps it is a good time for more than one operator to take a look at the design of their virtual slot machines before Indecopi does. The presentation of games now has legal relevance.

Previously published at: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7428483886109794304/?originTrackingId=%2FTwBiBoZSKdIApderuYWHw%3D%3D