Under the changes, new category B gaming machines will need to give players better access to gambling management tools, along with session information showing how long they’ve played and how much they’ve won or lost. That same session data will also be available to operators, helping them identify and intervene when a customer shows signs of gambling harm. Regarding game design, the rules will stop machines from celebrating wins that fall below the amount staked, and will ban features that let players speed up how quickly a result comes in.
Helen Rhodes, the Commission’s Director of Major Policy Projects and Evaluation, commented:
“These measures will help both to empower consumers to understand and manage their gambling and ensure operators play their part. 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.”
The changes follow a consultation built on proposals from the 2023 Gambling Act Review white paper, and the Commission said it adjusted its original plans based on feedback to avoid unintended costs or technical problems for the industry. Existing machines won’t need to meet the new requirements, since upgrading them would be costly without delivering any benefit to players. The Commission also built in steps to avoid overwhelming players and staff with too many alerts, and to protect user privacy. Most of the changes will roll out in stages, with the majority taking effect in June 2027.
