The Gambling Commission of the UK has announced new technical standards aimed at making land-based gaming machines safer and fairer for players. These regulations, released on Wednesday, arise from the regulator's response to its 2025 consultation and will impact new category A, B, and select C machines, with implementation phases scheduled to begin between March 2027 and October 2028.
One key requirement is that new machines will be mandated to encourage players to set personal limits on their gaming session. Players must choose limits on play time and monetary losses or accept a default configuration. The regulations explicitly state that players cannot engage without limits. The personal limits will allow a maximum of 60 minutes of play and a net loss of £450 ($597), while the default limits will be set at a maximum of 20 minutes and a net loss of £150.
When these limits are reached, players will receive prompts that will trigger mandatory breaks. The length of these breaks will vary depending on whether the limits were set by the consumer or the default settings. For sessions initiated with default time limits, the first two breaks will last 10 seconds and 20 seconds, respectively. All other breaks will last a minimum of 30 seconds, displaying safer gambling information during the pause.
In addition to personal limits, new machines will also showcase players’ net positions—calculating winnings against losses—and the elapsed time of their gameplay. Players will have the option to hide this information after a viewing period of at least 10 seconds.
Real-time alerts will be sent to staff when players reach their set limits or make amendments to them, although these alerts will not require immediate staff interaction. To alleviate staff fatigue from excessive notifications, alerts for players hitting the first two default thresholds will not be activated.
The new standards also call for machines to refrain from using audiovisual notifications that celebrate wins that match or are less than the last stake and prohibit feature options that quicken gameplay outcomes.
The new Gaming Machine Technical Standards (GMTS) specifically pertain to category A, B1, B2, B3, B3A, and B4 games launched after June 30, 2027, based on final testing dates. Many current machines may be exempt from these new rules due to the technical and financial difficulties involved in making updates. It is estimated that around 7,770 machines could be removed if strict upgrades are mandated.
For platforms offering both old and new games, the launch of any new game will necessitate compliance with these new standards. The changes will unfold in three phases: the first phase, defining session play, will be effective March 30, 2027; the majority of GMTS changes will take effect on June 30, 2027; and legal obligations for staff alerts will commence on October 3, 2028.
The Commission shared that the cost of implementing these changes will be significant, estimating moderate consolidation costs at £12,000, with testing strategies at £3,200. They predict substantial outlays between £500,000 and £1 million for adding limit-setting features and between £554,000 to £1.154 million for displaying game session information, primarily for new games. The greatest annual expense is expected to come from staff alert systems, projected to cost between £20.76 million and £41.63 million, chiefly due to enhanced data management systems and increased staffing requirements. However, certain adjustments, like exempting old machines and reducing alerts for lower-risk settings, could halve the expected alert volumes.
Helen Rhodes, Director of Major Policy Projects and Evaluation, commented that these measures are designed to empower consumers by helping them manage their gambling. She noted that feedback from various stakeholders during the consultation had a significant impact on refining the proposals.
These reforms are rooted in the UK Government's 2023 Gambling Act Review, aligning with the objectives of promoting safer gambling and transparency. The Commission received 1,065 responses from stakeholders during the consultation, including industry members and advocacy groups. This valuable feedback led to changes such as adopting net position metrics and refining session definitions to minimize interruptions.
During a recent event, Sarah Gardner, acting chief executive of the Bingo Association, highlighted that starting July 29, 2026, non-remote operators must eliminate any gaming machines that lack the required technical operating licenses or do not conform to technical standards as mandated by the Commission. This move aims to improve processes and quickly remove non-compliant machines.
The Social Market Foundation has called for an increase in the Machine Games Duty for higher-risk Category B electronic gaming machines in the upcoming budget, yet industry leaders like Betfred and Entain caution that such a measure could have negative implications for community welfare.
