The Gambling Commission has announced new technical standards for land-based gaming machines, aimed at enhancing fairness and safety in play. These regulations, detailed in the Commission's response to its 2025 consultation, will impact new category A, B, and some C machines, with take effect between March 2027 and October 2028.
One significant change is the requirement for new machines to prompt players at the beginning of a session to set personal limits on their play time and monetary losses or accept default settings. Playing without limits will not be permitted. The maximum consumer-set limits will include a playtime of 60 minutes and a net loss limit of £450 ($597), while default limits will be capped at 20 minutes and £150 net loss.
When players reach their set limits, they will receive an alert that enforces a mandatory break. The length of these breaks varies, with the first two for default limits lasting 10 and 20 seconds, and a minimum of 30 seconds for breaks from custom-set limits. During these breaks, information promoting safer gambling will be displayed to clarify the cause for the interruption and present options to end the session or modify limits.
Moreover, new machines and games on multi-game "compendiums" will default to showing players their net positions (winnings minus losses) and elapsed session time, although this information can be hidden after a minimum viewing time.
Real-time alerts will be sent to staff when players exceed or change their limits. However, these alerts are not designed to require immediate customer interaction. To prevent excessive alerts from causing staff burnout, notifications will not be activated for players reaching the initial two default time thresholds if those limits were set at the start of the session.
The new guidelines further specify that machines cannot feature audiovisual celebrations for returns that match or fall below the last stake, and features that accelerate the outcome of games, such as turbo modes, will also be banned.
These revised Gaming Machine Technical Standards (GMTS) will apply to newly released machines in categories A, B1, B2, B3, B3A, and B4, classified as "new" after June 30, 2027, based on their final testing dates. Existing machines will largely be exempt due to technical and financial challenges associated with retrofitting, with an industry estimate suggesting that approximately 7,770 machines may face removal if upgrades become mandatory.
For machines running "compendiums" that include both old and new games, any new game addition will necessitate compliance with the new standards across the entire platform.
The implementation of these changes will occur in three phases: the definition of session limits will start on March 30, 2027, with most GMTS changes effective from June 30, 2027, and staff alerts becoming legally mandatory from October 3, 2028.
The Gambling Commission has published a business impact assessment, estimating moderate costs for GMTS consolidation to be around £12,000, with testing strategies costing about £3,200. Implementing limit-setting functions may require significant investments, ranging from £500,000 to £1 million, while session information display for new games could cost between £554,000 and £1.154 million. Staff alerts are projected to incur the highest expenses, estimated annually at £20.76 million to £41.63 million, primarily due to data management and staffing costs.
To mitigate potential alert overload, the Commission anticipates that exempting existing machines and reducing alerts at lower-risk thresholds could halve the expected alert volume. Optional costs related to design restrictions and game feature alterations will also be minimal.
Helen Rhodes, Director of Major Policy Projects and Evaluation, stated that these measures are designed to empower consumers in managing their gambling and ensuring operators fulfill their responsibilities. Feedback during consultations influenced these decisions, leading to adjusted plans for metrics used in monitoring gambling habits.
These reforms stem from the 2023 Gambling Act Review white paper, which reflects the UK Government’s commitment to safer gambling and transparency. The Gambling Commission received 1,065 responses from stakeholders during its 2025 consultation, including industry representatives and advocacy groups. Modifications were made based on feedback regarding monetary metrics and session definitions.
Speaking at a Bingo Association meeting, acting chief executive Sarah Gardner confirmed plans for non-remote operators to remove gaming machines that lack the proper operating licenses by July 29, 2026, aimed at swiftly eliminating non-compliant machines.
The Social Market Foundation has suggested increasing Machine Games Duty on higher-risk Category B electronic gaming machines in the upcoming budget, while major industry players like Betfred and Entain have urged against such a rise, citing possible negative impacts on communities.
