Britain’s Gambling Commission has launched a consultation on proposed new rules for gaming machines in retail establishments.

The consultation is focussed on the Commission’s gaming machine technical standards and related testing strategy and aims to improve consumer protection through a number of changes.

These include the introduction of five new standards, a licence condition and a social responsibility code provision covering things such as time and monetary limit setting functionality, display of net position and session time, and safer gambling messaging on machines.

“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,” said Tim Miller, Gambling Commission executive director for research and policy.

“We recognise that regulatory changes that impact 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 to helping make a robust assessment on whether the benefits to consumers are proportionate to the costs involved,” Miller concluded.

The consultation opened today and will close on 20 May 2025.