The Gambling Commission has announced new technical standards for land-based gaming machines, intended to enhance safety and fairness in gaming. These standards, released in response to a consultation about the Gambling Act, will affect new category A, B, and select category C machines, with implementation dates ranging from March 2027 to October 2028.
A key requirement mandates that players establish personal limits on their gaming sessions. At the beginning of a gaming session, machines must either prompt players to set personalized limits on both time and monetary losses or accept default options. Under the regulations, it will be illegal to play without any limits in place. Players can set their limits with a maximum allowed time of 60 minutes and a financial loss cap of £450 ($597). Default settings will limit playtime to 20 minutes and total losses to £150.
Once a player reaches their limit, a mandatory alert will require them to take a break. The length of these breaks will vary based on whether the limits were set by the player or selected as defaults. For default limits, the first two breaks will last 10 and 20 seconds respectively, while all other breaks will last a minimum of 30 seconds. During these breaks, safer gambling information will be displayed, explaining the purpose of the interruption and offering options for ending the session or adjusting the limits.
New machines will also inform players of their net position—winnings minus losses—and elapsed session time by default. Players can choose to hide this information after viewing it for at least 10 seconds.
In addition to player protections, these new standards stipulate that staff will receive real-time notifications when players reach or adjust their time or loss limits. These alerts, however, will not necessarily trigger immediate interaction from staff. To minimize alert fatigue and volume, notifications will not activate when players reach the first two default time thresholds if those limits were selected at the session's start.
Another notable change prohibits machines from featuring audiovisual “celebrations” for winnings that are equal to or less than the last stake. Furthermore, mechanics designed to speed up gameplay, such as turbo modes, will not be permitted.
The updated Gaming Machine Technical Standards (GMTS) will apply to newly launched category A, B1, B2, B3, B3A, and B4 games categorized as “new” after June 30, 2027. Existing machines will largely be exempt from these requirements due to potential technical difficulties and the cost of retrofitting, with an industry estimate suggesting around 7,770 machines could be removed if mandatory upgrades were enforced.
For machines that support both old and new games in compendiums, any introduction of new games will necessitate that the entire platform complies with the new standards.
Implementation will occur in three phases: the first, which establishes session definitions, will be effective from March 30, 2027. Most GMTS changes will take effect on June 30, 2027, while staff notification requirements will become legally binding on October 3, 2028.
The Commission has also shared projections regarding the financial impacts of these changes. The moderate costs for GMTS consolidation are estimated at £12,000, while testing is expected to incur £3,200. Significant investments ranging from £500,000 to £1 million will be required for implementing the limit-setting features, alongside costs between £554,000 and £1.154 million for session display information, particularly for new offerings. Staff alerts will be the most costly aspect, with annual expenses predicted to be between £20.76 million and £41.63 million, mostly tied to data management and staffing.
To offset these costs, measures such as exempting existing machines and reducing alert triggers at lower risk thresholds are anticipated to halve the expected alert volume.
The Gambling Commission emphasized the extensive nature of the UK's gaming machine market, which has been projected to yield £2.6 billion gross between April 2024 and March 2025, with around 88.5% coming from category B machines. The market has seen consistent growth since 2019.
Helen Rhodes, Director of Major Policy Projects and Evaluation, remarked, “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.”
These reforms align with the UK Government’s 2023 Gambling Act Review, prioritizing safer gambling practices and transparency. The Commission received 1,065 responses from stakeholders during its consultation, including contributions from industry representatives, clubs, and advocacy groups. Feedback helped shape changes such as the focus on net position for financial measures and refining session definitions while exempting existing machines to find a balance between reducing harm and addressing economic implications.
At the Bingo Association’s annual general meeting on May 7, acting chief executive Sarah Gardner announced that starting July 29, 2026, non-remote operators must remove any gaming machines identified by the Commission as lacking the necessary technical operating licenses or failing to comply with technical standards. This initiative aims to streamline processes and ensure that non-compliant machines are promptly eliminated from gaming establishments.
The Social Market Foundation has called on the government to raise Machine Games Duty on higher-risk Category B electronic gaming machines in the upcoming budget. Industry leaders, including Betfred and Entain, have expressed opposition to such increases, citing potential negative impacts on the communities and businesses.
