UK LEGAL
Gambling Commission consultation on changes to gaming machine standards
Northridge Law’s Melanie Ellis looks at The Gambling Commission’s proposed changes to its gaming machine technical standards.
T
he Gambling Commission is proposing changes to its gaming machine technical standards, which have until now been subject to limited updates since their first publication in 2007. These changes will primarily affect new and existing Category B1, B2 and B3 machines and will also technically apply to Category A machines (in case these are ever introduced), with some proposals to also affect B3A and B4 machines, or potentially just new machines in those categories. As well as consolidating standards for all categories of machines into a single document, the Commission proposes to require some new features on machines with a view to “support and empower consumers to use gaming machines safely”. Levelling the playing field between remote and land-based gambling is one of the key themes of the ongoing Gambling Act review. So far this has primarily affected the remote sector, a prime example being the upcoming stake limits for online slots which will (at least for adults aged 25+) reflect the maximum stakes available on slot
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machines in land-based casinos. As part of its review of gaming machines, the Commission considered the online slots protections contained in its Remote Technical Standards alongside the voluntary measures set out in the Land- Based Game Design Code of Conduct, published jointly by the BGC, Bacta and the Bingo Association in 2022. Some of the key proposals are as follows:
TIME AND SPEND LIMITS The Commission proposes that gaming machines must require customers to make an active choice about whether to set their own time and monetary limits, which would trigger customer and staff alerts, or alternatively rely on default limits for alerts of no more than every 20 minutes and every £150 of deposits. Where customers sets their own limits, these would need to be no more than 60 minutes and £450 of deposits. Reaching or modifying a limit would need to result in a break in play of at least 30 seconds and a real-time
communication to staff, which should be acted on in an appropriate and timely manner.
The Commission also plans to add a requirement that safer gambling messaging be provided to customers during these breaks in play. This messaging would include information about total deposits and net position, direct the customer to sources of support and allow them to choose to end their session.
DISPLAY OF NET POSITION AND TIME SPENT
The Commission proposes that slot machines be able to display the customer’s net position and elapsed time since the session started. The display of this information would need to be at the discretion of the customer. Awards below the stake size
As is currently the case with online slots, the Commission proposes to prevent gaming machines from celebrating returns which are less than or equal to the last
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