SBC News UKGC opens WP consultation on Gaming Machine standards and testing

UKGC opens WP consultation on Gaming Machine standards and testing

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has launched the third consultation on proposals to make gambling in Britain safer and fairer, as recommended by the White Paper of the Gambling Act Review.

The third consultation will run for a period of 16 weeks, from 29 January 2025 to 20 May 2025. The Commission seeks feedback on the technical standards and testing provisions of gaming machines.

Published in April 2023, the Gambling Review’s White Paper recommends that the Commission revise the technical standards and testing criteria applied to the management of gaming machines in the UK.

As detailed by the Commission: “We are consulting on proposed changes to our requirements on gambling businesses through the Gaming Machine Technical Standards (GMTS), Gaming Machine Testing Strategy (testing strategy), and the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).

All stakeholders, including consumers, gambling businesses (such as those that manufacture, supply, or make gaming machines available for use), test houses, and members of the public, are invited to share their views on these proposals.”

Proposals on gaming machines recommend the introduction of five new standards, a licence condition, and a social responsibility code provision designed to support and empower consumers to use gaming machines safely at every stage of the customer journey.

Further safeguards include proposals on time and monetary limit-setting functionality, as well as information provisions such as safer gambling messaging and the display of net position and session time.

The Commission has been recommended to consolidate the existing 12 gaming machine technical standards into a single standard while amending the format to be more consistent with the Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards for greater clarity.

Industry proposals have called for the Commission to amend three existing standards to improve customer enjoyment and gameplay. Furthermore, the Commission seeks to update the testing strategy of gaming machines to remove obsolete material.

The response to the White Paper consultation was published in May 2024, providing the UKGC with feedback on LCCP duties, the design of high-risk games, age verification, and the use of financial risk assessments.

The Commission is currently reviewing feedback from its second consultation, which closed in February 2024. This consultation covered the technical criteria for customer deposit limits, free bet incentives, the protection of customer funds, and the structure of the mandatory Levy for research, education, and treatment (RET).

Feedback on the second consultation has only been published for the Frequency of regulatory returns as the Commission is “currently analysing the consultation responses for our other proposals and will set out further responses in due course.”

Tim Miller, Gambling Commission Executive Director for Research and Policy, said: “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.”

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