The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has launched its third consultation to make gambling in Britain safer and fairer, following recommendations from the Gambling Act Review White Paper. The consultation runs for 16 weeks, from 29 January 2025 to 20 May 2025, and seeks feedback on the technical standards and testing provisions for gaming machines.
The Gambling Review White Paper, published in April 2023, calls for a revision of technical standards and testing criteria for gaming machines in the UK. The UKGC is now consulting on changes to the Gaming Machine Technical Standards (GMTS), Gaming Machine Testing Strategy, and Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). All stakeholders, including consumers, gambling businesses, test houses, and members of the public, are invited to contribute their views.
The proposals include introducing five new standards, a licence condition, and a social responsibility code to improve player protection. Additional safeguards focus on implementing time and monetary limits, enhancing information provision, reinforcing safer gambling messaging, and ensuring clearer displays of net position and session time. The UKGC has also been advised to consolidate the existing twelve gaming machine technical standards into a single standard and align them with the Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards.
The gambling industry has suggested modifications to three existing standards to enhance gameplay and customer experience. The UKGC is also updating the gaming machine testing strategy to remove outdated requirements. In May 2024, the Commission published feedback from the White Paper consultation, covering LCCP duties, high-risk game design, age verification, and financial risk assessments.
The second consultation, which closed in February 2024, focused on customer deposit limits, free bet incentives, customer fund protection, and the mandatory Levy for research, education, and treatment (RET). Feedback has only been published on the frequency of regulatory returns, with further responses expected in due course.
Tim Miller, Executive Director for Research and Policy at the UKGC, reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to ensuring safer gambling. He stated:
“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.
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.”
The consultation remains open until 20 May 2025, and the UKGC urges all interested parties to participate and share their views.