The Gambling Commission confirmed on 30 September 2026 that new technical standards will apply to gaming machines in Great Britain, with most of the changes taking effect on 30 June 2027. New machines will have to offer gambling management tools and show players how long they have been playing and their net position. Two design rules also arrive: awards below the stake can no longer be celebrated, and features that shorten the time to a result will be prohibited.
This decision covers physical machines in venues such as arcades, bingo halls, betting shops and casinos. It does not change the rules for online slots, including the games in the SlotSpecs database. It matters here because two of its design measures closely mirror rules that online slots in Great Britain have followed since 2021, so the two channels are moving closer together.
What changes and when
The Commission is introducing the changes in stages. The dates below come from its consultation response and the accompanying blog post by Graham Burgin, Policy Senior Manager.
| Date | What takes effect |
|---|---|
| 30 March 2027 | A formal definition of a gaming machine session |
| 30 June 2027 | Most changes: a single consolidated technical standard, limit-setting tools and session information on new machines, safer gambling messages during breaks, no celebration of awards below stake, no features that speed up results |
| 3 October 2028 | Staff alert requirements, given a longer lead time |
The response lists the categories in scope as A, B1, B2, B3, B3A and B4. The headline announcement describes the main consumer measures as applying to category B machines.
What players will see
- Session information: new machines will show elapsed time and net position. The Commission changed the wording from “loss” to “net position” after consultation, to make the figure clearer.
- Breaks: minimum break lengths were cut to 10 and 20 seconds, down from the 30 seconds first proposed, and graduated by risk level.
- A choice to hide figures: after a 10-second break, players will be able to hide the elapsed time and net position display.
- No sub-stake celebrations: a result that returns less than the stake cannot be presented with winning sounds or animations.
- No speed-up features: anything that lets the player reduce the time until the result is shown will be prohibited.
What changed after consultation
The Commission received more than 1,000 responses, and several proposals were softened. The biggest change is that existing machines are exempt from the new session limits and display requirements. The Commission’s reasoning was that retrofitting would involve complex technical changes and costs that would not deliver proportionate benefit, a point that weighed especially on smaller operators and social clubs. Staff alerts were also removed for the lower-risk time thresholds.
Helen Rhodes, the Commission’s Director of Major Policy Projects and Evaluation, said the measures will “empower consumers to understand and manage their gambling”.
Because only new machines must comply, the protections will reach venues gradually as older cabinets are replaced, rather than all at once in 2027. One detail speeds that up: where a machine offers a compendium of games, adding a new game brings every game on that platform into scope.
How this compares with online slots
Online slots offered in Great Britain have worked under game design rules since October 2021. Those rules removed autoplay and turbo or slam-stop features, set a minimum spin speed of 2.5 seconds and banned celebrating a return that is equal to or less than the stake. That is why UK builds of games such as Big Bass Splash and Gates of Olympus 2500 have no autoplay or turbo buttons.
| Measure | Online slots (GB) | Gaming machines from 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| No celebration of sub-stake results | Yes, since 2021 | Yes, new standard |
| No features that speed up results | Yes, since 2021 | Yes, new standard |
| Applies to existing products | Yes | No, new machines only |
The fit is not exact. Online rules apply to every game offered, while the machine rules apply to new cabinets. But the direction is the same: results should be shown at a readable pace, and a loss should not look like a win.
What it means for free play
Nothing changes for the demos on SlotSpecs, which are free-to-play and use no stakes. The useful takeaway is the principle behind both sets of rules: knowing how long you have played and what your net position is makes it easier to stay in control. Our playing responsibly guide sets out simple ways to keep track of time, even in free play.
Sources
- Gambling Commission: New machine rules to support consumers and operators to reduce harm (30 September 2026)
- Gambling Commission: consultation response, executive summary
- Gambling Commission blog: Gaming machine consultation update, September 2026