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UKGC opens consultation on new gaming machine safety and fairness rules
Rajashree Seal
January 29, 2025
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has launched a consultation on proposed new rules aimed at making gambling in Britain safer and fairer, as recommended by the White Paper of the Gambling Act Review.
The consultation, which runs from 29 January 2025 to 20 May 2025, seeks feedback on the technical standards and testing provisions of gaming machines. The White Paper ‘High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age’, published in April 2023, recommends revising these standards to improve consumer protection and industry clarity.
The Commission stated, “We are consulting on proposed changes to our requirements on gambling businesses through the Gaming Machine Technical Standards (GMTS), Gaming Machine Testing Strategy (testing strategy), and the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). All stakeholders, including consumers, gambling businesses (such as those that manufacture, supply, or make gaming machines available for use), test houses, and members of the public, are invited to share their views on these proposals.”
Today we launched a new consultation aimed at making gambling in Britain safer and fairer. It will run for 16 weeks (closing on 20 May 2025) and is focussed on the gaming machine technical standards and the related testing strategy.
— Gambling Commission (@GamRegGB) January 29, 2025
https://t.co/44RfeHdBSH pic.twitter.com/rV7vznDqNK
Proposed changes to gaming machines
The proposals include introducing five new standards, a licence condition, and a social responsibility code provision. These measures are designed to support and empower consumers to use gaming machines safely at every stage of their journey.
Key recommendations include:
- Introduce five new standards, a licence condition and a social responsibility code provision designed to support and empower consumers to use gaming machines safely at every stage of the customer journey – this includes proposals on time and monetary limit setting functionality and information provision such as safer gambling messaging and the display of net position and session time
- Amend three existing standards having considered industry proposals to improve customer enjoyment and gameplay
- Consolidate the existing 12 gaming machine technical standards into a single standard, whilst amending the format to be more consistent with our Remote gambling and software technical standards for greater clarity
- Update the gaming machine technical standards and the related testing strategy to remove obsolete material.
Consultation and industry feedback
The response to the White Paper consultation, published in May 2024, provided feedback on LCCP duties, high-risk game design, age verification, and financial risk assessments. The Commission is currently reviewing responses from its second consultation, which closed in February 2024. This consultation focused on customer deposit limits, free bet incentives, protection of customer funds, and the mandatory Levy for research, education, and treatment (RET).
Feedback from the second consultation has only been published for the frequency of regulatory returns. The Commission noted: “We are currently analysing the consultation responses for our other proposals and will set out further responses in due course.”
Stakeholder participation
Tim Miller, Gambling Commission Executive Director for Research and Policy, emphasised the importance of public engagement in shaping these regulations.
“The White Paper sets out that a top priority is ensuring that gambling happens safely. We share this commitment, and today’s consultation proposes how we could implement gaming machine changes in the land-based sector.”
He acknowledged the potential financial impact on businesses and stated: “We recognise that regulatory changes impacting the design of machines can come with considerable costs. We are encouraging consumers, gambling businesses, and other interested groups to share evidence that will assist us in measuring both the likely regulatory impacts of the proposed changes and the likely costs of implementing them. This evidence will be invaluable in helping to make a robust assessment of whether the benefits to consumers are proportionate to the costs involved.”
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