Guidance to licensing authorities
There are no statutory stake limits on other forms of in-person gambling such as casino table games or over the counter betting. Slower and less intense games are also likely to generate less revenue than the current games (subject to the precise rule change), but in our view they will make the gambling product offer more sustainable rather than relying on potentially harmful practices to keep customers engaged. However, as one think tank pointed out, reasonable minimum standards are in fact a targeted intervention as they prevent designedly harmful or risky play, but do not impact how most people actually use online products.
The classic offer — “bet £5 on football, receive 20 casino free spins” — is now a licence breach. The practice of bundling sports betting incentives with casino bonuses was banned outright. All UKGC-licensed casinos must now prompt every new customer to set a financial limit before their first deposit.
Please explain your answer, providing any supporting evidence where available. However, it should be noted that respondents were most likely to have spent their own money on types of gambling activity that are legal or do not feature age restricted products, such as penny pusher or claw grab arcade games. Bacta’s members make up approximately 70-80% of the market for family entertainment centres and adult gaming centres. We propose to move the industry’s voluntary commitment casino not on gamestop into legislation, making it an offence for a person to invite, cause or permit a child or young person to use ‘cash-out’ Category D slot-style games. Further details on machine types and permitted locations can be found at Figure 11.
Digital products have since made multi-staking easier to implement, allowing customers to stake at lower levels than the maximum. Data provided to the Bingo Association by one of its members (a bingo operator chain) indicated the current average customer dwell time on a B3 machine in a retail bingo hall was under 8 minutes, with an average loss of under £8. The case was made by some parts of the industry that the 80/20 rule is no longer fit for purpose, and does not allow industry to meet consumer demand or adapt to technological change. Similarly, this would be a two stage process where ministers could make secondary legislation permitting a wider rollout of linked machine games at their discretion, with any such proposals being subject to Parliamentary approval. This would be a two stage process of first removing legislative barriers to creating a pilot scheme, including creating a power to subdivide Category C, before putting in place further rules which set the parameters of any trials, which would need to be approved by the Gambling Commission. We support allowing some of the concepts proposed in the call for evidence to be tested carefully through planned pilots under certain conditions, with the close involvement of the Gambling Commission.
- The fees payable for gaming machine notifications and gaming machine permits are not in scope of this review.
- Maximum gambling area for 1968 Act casinos will be decided following responses to the consultation.
- The financial regulation of gambling is set out mostly in the British Finance Acts and provides for various levels of duty upon different types of gambling.
- Its goal is to reduce the prevalence of problem gambling, particularly among those who play online.
- As with advertising more broadly, it appears that while sponsorship is rarely the factor causing the development of harmful gambling, it can still exacerbate impacts for those who are already suffering harms.
- In bingo premises, 1.6% of Category B gaming machine sessions result in losses of £200 or more, compared to 0.7% of combined Category C, Category D and mixed sessions.
As the premier gambling law, it dictates the protocols for casinos, poker, sports betting, pools, lottery betting, etc. We have also considered a broad range of academic and other literature on gambling harm and gambling harm prevention, including material produced in other jurisdictions, and publications since the call for evidence period. In addition to the direct impact on the levy of a reduction in betting industry GGY, we have also assumed that there may be an impact on racing’s income from gambling sponsorship and media rights, as operators’ income is reduced. The horserace betting levy is paid by bookmakers based on 10% of GGY from customers in Great Britain, betting on races in Great Britain, whether online or in betting shops. A number of submissions to our call for evidence highlighted the relationship between horse racing and gambling, including the importance of the horserace betting levy for maintaining the sport.
However, over the longer term, some industry representatives have suggested that operators would likely further reduce their number of Category C and D cabinets in favour of multi-staking Category B cabinets. Under the scenario outlined in Option 2, it is anticipated that a genuine balance and choice of higher and lower stake machines would be achieved across venues. Indeed, we reviewed data that showed some operators, particularly in the bingo sector where tablets are in widespread use for playing bingo games, have significantly greater numbers of Category B cabinets than Category C and D cabinets. It would also provide greater flexibility in determining the make-up of their machines and potentially lead to the removal of machines, such as tablets and in-fills, that are infrequently played. Consequently, it would deter operators from offering tablets and in-fill devices as a way to increase the number of Category B cabinets on their premises.
The remaining third are known as “ticket-out Category D slot machines” and are limited to a 30p stake and the equivalent of a prize worth up to £8. There are two types of Category D slot style machines, those that pay out winnings as money, and those that pay out tickets. A similar conclusion was reached by the House of Lords Select Committee, which noted that banning children from using Category D machines could have a “devastating impact on individuals, businesses and communities”. Category D machines include a diverse range of low stake and prize machines such as coin pushers, crane grabs and slot style machines (also known as fruit style machines).
This suggests most customers do not spend above levels which would be usual in other leisure sectors, although personal circumstances on whether these losses are acceptable will vary. The Patterns of Play research commissioned by GambleAware found that between July 2018 and July 2019, 21% of accounts made a net gain, 60% lost less than £200, 13% lost between £200 and £1,000, 5% lost between £1,000 and £5,000, and around 1% lost more that £5,000 (see Figure 5 below). This was part of a broader sentiment across some respondents that consumers needed to be better empowered in their dealings with remote gambling products and companies.
This would mean that an operator licensed overseas could face regulatory action in that jurisdiction for operating without a licence in Britain. In particular, they are increasingly targeted at people who have self-excluded via GAMSTOP and therefore are unable to gamble with licensed operators. The enhanced approach to monitoring operators will provide it with a comprehensive view of the operators that are and are not complying with the rules in a timely manner. It will conduct a review of the status of customer funds protection across the remote industry to help inform consideration of whether further strengthening of requirements is necessary. As part of the Commission’s Review of Online Gambling (2018), a package of work was undertaken to assess the risks and options around customer funds. Licensees are required by the Commission to provide information to customers about whether customer funds are protected in the event of insolvency, the level of such protection and the method by which this is achieved.
Some players object to sharing financial information with gambling operators. Operating without a valid UKGC licence while serving UK customers is a criminal offence, and players at unlicensed sites have no regulatory protections. If a casino does not appear on the UKGC register or its licence has been revoked, do not play there.
The Gambling Commission also has a programme of research and can directly commission research to inform its regulation, but this focuses primarily on monitoring gambling participation and prevalence of gambling-related harms. Funding for gambling research is available both from government via UKRI and through a system of annual contributions from industry to fund research, education and treatment of gambling-related harms. In October 2021, fees for online operators were increased by 55% and application fees by 60% and in April 2022, non-remote licence fees were increased by 15%. The Commission can also investigate and take action against gambling sites and operators which are illegally targeting the British market without a licence.
The intent of the Gambling Act 2005 is to provide licensing authorities with the ability to manage local risks and make decisions using local knowledge. Some licensing authorities expressed concern that their powers were not sufficient to apply local considerations and to shape gambling in their local areas when making licensing decisions. We propose therefore to work with the Gambling Commission and the bingo industry to look further at the options and conditions under which licensed bingo premises might be permitted to offer side bets. We have taken the Gambling Commission’s advice into account on this issue, which outlines some of the possible conditions that could be put in place to minimise any risk of side-bets leading to a wider range of games that may be unsuitable for licensed bingo premises being made available. Because the Gambling Commission requires that bingo is played as an equal chance game (i.e. each card has the same chance of winning as another card), the industry says there is no opportunity for customers to choose their own numbers (or colours) as opposed to them being chosen at random for them.
From the early days of underground gambling to the modern era of licensed casinos and online gaming, the UK has continually adapted its regulatory approach to meet the needs of a dynamic and evolving industry. Each category is permitted in specific types of premises, with Category A and B1 machines available “only in the highly regulated environment of casinos“. These casinos were licensed by the Gaming Board of Great Britain and had to operate as members-only clubs where no more than 10 gaming machines could be installed. Given the largest cost to business is purchasing and installing new gaming machines, which is linked to the overall size of casinos, the IA explains that this cost is likely to increase with the size of the business.
Conclusion: UK Gambling Laws Strengthen Player Protection Under Strict UK Gambling Regulation
However, it is our intention to apply a fixed maximum of 80 gaming machines per physical location. The government proposes that a new regime will apply to 1968 Act casinos that seek to increase their gaming machine entitlement. We also acknowledge concerns about an increased availability of machines potentially leading to greater opportunities for gambling-related harm. Over half of respondents who indicated an intention to move onto the new regime stated they would look to take up the maximum entitlement of 80 gaming machines in at least some of their venues (57%).
(2) The floor area of the gambling area must be less than 1,500m². (4) Any separate area that comprises less than 12.5 per cent of the minimum required table gaming area is not to be taken into account in determining the table gaming area. (a)half the size of the floor area of the gambling area,
They also highlighted the importance of card account verification given the potential for stolen debit cards to be used to make direct payments to gambling machines. They also stated that individual gambling businesses should be allowed to decide if they would like to update their systems to provide direct debit card payments as it would be a significant cost to businesses to update all machines to have this functionality. We expect that operators will ensure that Category C and D machines made available to meet the ratio are available for use and have genuine customer appeal. We received some responses which suggested that Option 1 would be preferable to Option 2(a) for ensuring that a genuine offer of Category C and D machines are made available to customers. In respect of ensuring that customers receive a genuine offer of Category C and D machines, Option 2 is the only option which we believe would achieve this objective better than Option 2(a). These responses were strongly opposed to Option 2(a) and Option 2(b) on the grounds that the ratios proposed place too much emphasis on achieving commercial flexibility for businesses at the expense of mitigating against risks of gambling-related harm.
Chapter 6: Land-based gambling
By contrast, the majority of gambling operators, across all sectors (bingo, arcade, casino and betting) advocated for either no increase or a small increase of 10%. Our proposal to introduce an age limit on these machines is a precautionary measure to protect children and young people from gambling-related harm. The government will allow direct debit card payments on gaming machines through a made negative statutory instrument, which will also include some of the player protection measures outlined in this chapter, such as the account verification requirement for each transaction. We propose that the default limits for B1 machines are aligned to those machines in arcades, bingo halls and betting premises. The government proposes that mandatory limits must be included on gaming machines accepting cashless forms of payments.
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In this new regulatory era, success won’t be measured purely by revenue per machine, but by how effectively an operator manages risk, safeguards players, and shows credible, data-backed compliance. For the first time, staff training on gambling harm is a statutory requirement, not just a licensing expectation. By embedding self-regulation tools directly into the gaming experience, these requirements mirror protections familiar to online gambling—and levels the regulatory playing field.
Affiliates are also coming under increased scrutiny (at least politically) and the links between gambling advertising and sport are likewise coming under increased political scrutiny. Where an operator is deemed to be seriously deficient, there is the possibility of a licence suspension and a small number of licensees have suffered licence suspensions. Operating licences are generally indefinite, subject to paying annual fees.
The impact of online financial risk checks (to be implemented by the Gambling Commission) are explored in detail in Annex A to this white paper. The researchers conclude that young people and young adults experiencing problem gambling should be considered at risk for suicidality. Evidence from people with personal experience of gambling harm highlighted that this may make individuals more susceptible to developing a gambling disorder.
Ipsos MORI’s research on the impact of gambling marketing on children (aged 11 to 17) and young adults (aged 18 to 24) found that sport was one of the major channels through which children are likely to be exposed to such marketing. Children’s exposure to gambling marketing through sport sponsorship is identified as a particular area of concern in other research. Seeing sponsorships (15%) was less influential than having or hearing about a big win (28% and 27% respectively), or seeing advertising or direct marketing (both 19%) and similar to hearing about other people’s negative experiences with gambling (14%). The Gambling Commission’s consumer journey research calculated percentage impact scores (prevalence x encouragement) for different factors that affect gambling. Inclusion in the IGRG Code will help ensure all operators abide by the commitment as it has ordinary code status and compliance can be considered in regulatory action by the Gambling Commission.
The vast majority of responses came from industry representatives and local authorities, however, we also received a small number of responses from academics and individuals with lived experience of gambling-related harm. The evidence generated was diverse and was indicative of the varied positions of stakeholders, primarily arcade and bingo operators and licensing authorities. In making this recommendation we recognise the potential advantages that 1968 Act casinos may have over Small 2005 Act casinos that elect to move to the new regime, in terms of Schedule 9 payments and the portability of licences. This will help ensure that operators are operating within the regulations and enable licensing authorities to undertake appropriate licence checks.
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Respondents in favour of sports betting pointed to evidence of casino customers placing sports bets via mobile devices while in casinos, with casinos being an environment in which people habitually watch sport. Very few responses were received by operators who hold more than one premises licence at the same location, but the majority of these indicated that they would not look to take up the maximum entitlement of 80 machines per licence were it to be an option. When asked about the likely impact of the proposed changes, if a new regime were to take effect with the proposed new maximum of 80 gaming machines, the majority of operators (88%) stated they would look to move onto this regime. These respondents also suggested that increasing the availability of gaming machines will not make customers more likely to take breaks, due to the prospect of other customers taking over their machine and claiming their ‘perceived winnings’.
The Gambling Commission will continue to monitor that market and consider where and when it could be leveraged to further the government’s objectives for the gambling sector, including the prevention of underage gambling. However, 5% of 11 to 16-year-olds reported using parents’ and/or guardians’ accounts to play on gambling websites or place bets online with their permission, which can be difficult to prevent from a regulatory perspective. Gambling Commission research shows online gambling is experienced by fewer 11 to 16-year-olds than other forms of gambling. These new rules have effectively prevented illegal underage gambling online using a child’s own details or invented identities.
Consultation responses included views from industry, academics, treatment providers and individuals. Responding to evidence, a lower level stake limit for young adults aged years old will be set at £2 per spin. In August 2026, a survey conducted by GamblingNews.uk found that 68% of Brits believe bookmakers sometimes “use anti-money laundering and responsible gambling checks as pretexts to void winning bets or delay payouts”.