Britain's Gambling Commission has finalised gaming machine safeguards covering session information, limit-setting tools and game design. Most changes take effect on 30 June 2027, with a new session definition starting earlier and staff-alert requirements following in October 2028. The regulator announced the decisions on 30 September, after reviewing its January 2025 consultation.
The package concerns land-based gaming machines. It is not a new set of remote casino rules, and its main technical requirements are not already in force. Manufacturers and venue operators now have a dated implementation programme to work against.
Session controls and game design
The Commission's announcement says new category B machines must give customers better access to information about elapsed playing time and money won or lost. Operators will also receive session information to help identify and respond to signs of gambling harm.
The consultation response specifies game-design restrictions for new category A, B1, B2, B3, B3A, B4 and C machines. They must not celebrate a return less than or equal to the total stake, or include features allowing a customer to shorten the time until a result is known.
In a policy explanation published the same day, senior manager Graham Burgin describes changes made after feedback about cost, privacy and unnecessary alerts. The final approach uses net position rather than deposited sums as its monetary metric. It removes staff alerts at the first and second default time thresholds. Customers can actively choose to hide elapsed-time and net-position information after at least 10 seconds of a break in play.
Existing games are not an unconditional exemption
Existing machines generally fall outside the new limit-setting and session-display requirements. The final limit-setting standard contains a compendium exception: when a new game is offered alongside existing games or category C and D games, all games must comply. Procurement decisions therefore need to consider the game mix as well as the cabinet.
At session start, the standard caps customer-set limits at 60 minutes and a net loss of £450; defaults cannot exceed 20 minutes and £150. Continuing after a break permits further time and loss allowances under its specified rules. These are not absolute daily spending caps.
Separate testing and classification guidance uses the date of the final external test report or signed-off internal testing documentation. A date before 30 June 2027 classifies a machine or game as existing; that date or later classifies it as new.
Updates that could affect fairness or randomness can require retesting and change the classification. Changes that do not potentially affect fairness still need documented sign-off, but do not automatically make a game new.
Implementation dates
The published response separates three milestones:
| Start date | Requirement | Implementation focus |
|---|---|---|
| 30 March 2027 | New session definition | Consistent session records |
| 30 June 2027 | Most technical and game-design changes | Product and game compliance |
| 3 October 2028 | Staff-alert elements | Alert delivery and response processes |
Burgin calls the staff-alert deadline a hard stop and encourages earlier adoption where possible. Manufacturers and operators should check the final standards, testing records and compendium composition together. BetTimes' game-testing guide explains why a test report's scope matters, while the Great Britain market profile covers the wider jurisdiction. Neither substitutes for the machine-specific requirements and staged dates in this decision.