New gaming machine regulations confirmed by British Gambling Commission
New gaming machine regulations in Britain will be phased in over 2027 and 2028, with new machines required to feature improved access to gambling management tools.
Key takeaways:
- New Category B gaming machines in Britain will have to display session information showing how long customers have been playing and their net wins or losses, while also providing enhanced gambling management tools from June 30, 2027.
- The reforms include responsible game design measures, such as banning celebrations of wins worth less than the stake and prohibiting features that speed up the time taken to reveal results.
- Following feedback from more than 1,000 consultation responses, existing machines have been exempted from the new requirements.
UK.- The Gambling Commission has confirmed the introduction of new rules for gaming machines in Britain. The changes will come into force on June 30, 2027, following a consultation linked to the 2023 Gambling White Paper.
Under the new requirements, all new Category B gaming machines will have to provide players with improved access to gambling management tools and sessional information showing how long they have been playing and their net position, detailing how much they have won or lost during a session. The same sessional information will be made more widely available to licensees across all sectors to help them meet regulatory obligations, including identifying and interacting with customers displaying signs of gambling-related harm.
The updated standards will also introduce changes to game design intended to improve transparency and responsibility. These include preventing machines from celebrating outcomes where the award is less than the amount staked and banning features that allow customers to speed up play by reducing the time before a result is revealed. Similar rules were previously introduced for online slots.
Category B devices are the most common type of electronic gaming machine at British betting shops, arcades and bingo halls. They can pay out up to £500, higher than the winnings allowed on Category C machines typically found in pubs. The new rules will only apply to new machines, allowing existing devices to remain in use without change.
Consultation-driven amendments to new gaming machine regulations
More than 1,000 responses were submitted during the Gambling Commission’s consultation on the proposed new gaming machine regulations, alongside supplementary data, consumer research and evidence reports. The regulator said feedback from operators, consumers and other stakeholders led it to revise a number of its original proposals in response to concerns about implementation costs, customer experience and the potential for unintended consequences.
That includes the decision to exclude existing machines from the new limit-setting and sessional information display requirements. The Gambling Commission said it has recognised the complex technical changes required for older machines would impose significant costs on businesses, particularly smaller operators and social clubs, without necessarily providing proportionate benefits for consumers.
Other amendments include adopting a blended approach to displaying sessional information, altering the definition of a gaming machine session to avoid breaks in play being triggered before a game has started, and replacing previous monetary measures with a “net position” metric that was found to be more easily understood by consumers.
The regulator has also opted for a graduated approach to mandatory breaks in play when limits are reached, reflecting differing levels of risk. Staff alerts will no longer be required when the first and second default time-limit thresholds are reached, a move intended to reduce implementation costs and minimise the risk of alert fatigue while allowing staff to focus on customers presenting greater risk.
To address privacy concerns, players will be allowed to actively choose to hide information relating to elapsed playing time and net position after at least 10 seconds of a break in play.
Phased implementation
Implementation will be phased. A new definition of a gaming machine session will take effect on March 30, 2027, with most of the remaining changes following on June 30, 2027. The Gambling Commission said this approach would allow data to be collected under the new session definition before the updated Gaming Machine Technical Standards are introduced, supporting future evaluation of the reforms.
Requirements relating to staff alerts will have a longer implementation period and are due to come into force on October 3, 2028. The regulator said the extended two-year timetable reflects the significant technical work required, including potential protocol updates, multi-platform integration and testing. However, it stressed that the deadline is a “hard stop” and encouraged operators already using alert technology to continue doing so, while urging others to adopt it as soon as possible.
Helen Rhodes, Director of Major Policy Projects and Evaluation, said: “These measures will help both to empower consumers to understand and manage their gambling and ensure operators play their part.
“Consultation feedback from a range of stakeholders helped to inform our thinking and where there was legitimate and evidenced concern, we made changes. We are confident that the consultation has led to a package of changes where the benefits to consumers are proportionate to the costs of implementation and that the staged timeline for implementation is reasonable and achievable.”
Meanwhile, land-based gaming operators continue to lobby against a proposal to double Machine Games Duty (MGD) in Britain from 20 per cent to 40 per cent in the Autumn Budget. The Betting and Gaming Council has launched a campaign under the slogan Back Our Betting Shops in a bid to promote the sector’s contributions to local communities.
FAQs
What are the new regulations for gaming machines in Britain?
From June 30, 2027, new Category B gaming machines must provide players with enhanced gambling management tools and session information showing how long they have been playing and their net wins or losses. The standards will also ban celebrations of wins worth less than the stake and prohibit features that allow players to speed up the time before a result is revealed.
Will existing gaming machines in Britain need to be upgraded to comply with the new rules?
No. Existing gaming machines have been excluded from the new requirements. The Gambling Commission said this decision was made in response to concerns about the cost and technical complexity of upgrading older machines, particularly for smaller operators and social clubs, where the consumer benefits may not be proportionate to the expense.
What feedback came out of the Gambling Commission consultation on gaming machine regulations?
The Gambling Commission received more than 1,000 consultation responses and revised several proposals after hearing concerns about implementation costs, customer experience, privacy, and operational impacts. Changes included adopting a blended approach to displaying session information, using “net position” as the monetary measure, reducing some staff alert requirements, and allowing players to hide session information after a short break in play if they choose.
