The in-game user panel

Every certified real-money game carries a mandated layer of on-screen information — in practice, a user panel. The GLI-19 baseline requires a game to display the player's available funds, the current wager and the placement of all active bets, and the outcome and amount won for the last completed game; rules and the full paytable must be readable before any stake is committed. Markets then add their own overlay: Great Britain requires an elapsed-time display, a session net-position figure and acknowledgeable reality checks, bans autoplay and turbo, and sets minimum game cycles; Ontario mirrors most of the slots rules; Malta mandates a live balance counter and reality-check pop-ups but, notably, no RTP display.

The baseline: what GLI-19 puts on screen

Within a gaming session the player interface must display the current funds available for wagering, the denomination being played, the current wager amount and the placement of all active wagers, any wager options in effect, and — until the next game starts — an accurate representation of the last completed game's outcome and the amount won (GLI-19 §4.3.4). The credit meter must be visible whenever a wager can be placed and must make unmistakably clear whether it is showing credits or currency (§4.3.5). The interface itself may contain no hidden or undocumented touch points that affect the outcome, and every button that matters must be clearly labelled (§4.2.2).

Rules, paytable and odds — before a stake is committed

GLI-19 requires help screens to be accessible without committing funds, to describe every feature (autoplay, countdown timers, bonuses), to state minimum and maximum wagers, and to include a complete paytable; games must not advertise 'upcoming wins' unless the claim is mathematically demonstrable, and restrictive features such as play-duration limits or win caps must be disclosed (§4.4.1). Market overlays sharpen this: Great Britain requires the rules and the likelihood of winning — including the RTP percentage or event probabilities and the house edge — to be readily accessible before play (UKGC RTS 3A, 3C, 3D); Ontario requires comprehensive rules with odds, payout odds or RTP one tap away (AGCO Standard 4.06) and bans any 'due to pay' or misleading framing (4.07); Malta requires the full game rules no more than one click from the game, in plain language, stating every way to win or lose (Player Protection Directive, arts. 7(1)–(2)). Malta, notably, imposes no RTP-display duty at all — it regulates the floor instead: repetitive RNG games must return at least 85% on average (art. 22(1)).

Time on screen: clocks and reality checks

Great Britain requires elapsed session time to be displayed throughout play (RTS 13C), a visible time-of-day or elapsed-time display whenever a full-screen client hides the device clock (13A), and player-configurable reality checks that interrupt the session and must be acknowledged before play continues (13B). Malta's version is sharper still for slots-type games: the reality-check pop-up must suspend play, show time played, amount wagered and net wins or losses, and force a choice between ending the session and continuing (arts. 18A(1)–(3)); full-screen games are prohibited unless a real-time clock stays on screen (18A(5)); and if autoplay time can be excluded from the timer, only by the player's active opt-in (18A(1) proviso). Ontario phrases it as an outcome: players must have the means to track the passage of time (AGCO 2.22), and an inactivity time-out must end idle sessions (4.30).

Money on screen: balance and net position

Great Britain requires every gaming session to display the customer's net position — total winnings minus total losses since the session began — in the account's currency (RTS 2E); Ontario requires the same figure for slots, in Canadian dollars (AGCO 2.21). Malta approaches it through the balance: the account balance must be visible at all times, with a live counter updating in real time during play (art. 18A(4)(a)), backed by six months of accessible gambling history (18A(4)(b)); where games use an in-game currency, its real monetary value must be clear at every stage (13C).

Design rules: speed, autoplay and celebrations

The panel is not only information — it is also what the game is forbidden to do. Great Britain bans autoplay outright (RTS 8A: the customer must commit to each game cycle individually), bans playing multiple casino games at once (14C), sets a minimum game cycle of 2.5 seconds for slots (14D) and 5 seconds for other casino products (14G), forbids any feature that shortens the time to the result — turbo, quick spin, slam stop (14E) — and bans win-style celebrations for returns at or below the stake (14F). Ontario mirrors the slots package: no autoplay (AGCO 2.16), no simultaneous slots (2.17), a 2.5-second cycle with release-and-repress between spins (2.18), no turbo (2.19), no losses-disguised-as-wins (2.20). Germany's federal framework goes further on speed, requiring an average five-second spin for virtual slot machines with autoplay not permitted. Malta takes a different line: autoplay is permitted but ringed with the reality-check safeguards above. Brazil's regulator has signalled an ordinance in the same family — minimum round times and an end to autoplay and turbo — though the final text remains to be published.

Live dealer: the panel meets the studio

Live games inherit the display baseline and add their own: the platform must publish its procedures for live-game interruptions — loss of video, data or voice — and explain how attendant and system errors are resolved (GLI-19 §4.18.2a); it may not provide any real-time information that could aid outcome prediction or card tracking (§4.18.2b); and players must be told that 'live' transmissions can lag, with the scale of any apparent delay displayed (§4.18.2c).

Worked example

Key facts

Sources (5)