The Gambling Commission has introduced a new licence condition requiring all non-remote gambling operators in Great Britain to withdraw gaming machines identified as non-compliant upon receipt of written notification, with the measure taking effect on 29 July 2026.
Licence Condition 18.1.1, introduced under Section 86(2) of the Gambling Act 2005, empowers the Commission to direct operators to remove machines that have been unlawfully manufactured, supplied, installed, adapted, maintained or repaired, or that otherwise fail to meet the regulator’s technical standards. The Commission said the condition closes a compliance gap by establishing a clear statutory process for withdrawing non-compliant machines without delay once formal written notice has been served.
The new condition is the first measure to be implemented from the Commission’s broader consultation on Gaming Machine Technical Standards, itself part of the Gambling Review White Paper of 2023. The wider reform package proposes consolidating the existing 12 Gaming Machine Technical Standards into a single framework, updating Category B2 machine requirements to reflect the reduced £2 maximum stake, and introducing five new technical standards alongside a new social responsibility code. The Commission said it continues to analyse stakeholder responses to those remaining proposals, with a full response expected later this summer.
Broad Support, Some Procedural Concerns
The enforcement proposal attracted support across the consultation from operators, gaming machine manufacturers, testing houses and consumers. Some respondents, however, requested greater clarity on how enforcement notices would be issued, alongside definitions of terms such as “specified gaming machine” and what would constitute written notification.
Despite calls from some stakeholders for a longer implementation period, the Commission concluded an extension was unnecessary, noting that the condition requires no technical modifications to gaming machines and no significant operational changes – only updates to internal compliance procedures, policies and staff training where appropriate. The regulator noted that the new licence condition requires no technical modifications to gaming machines or significant operational changes by operators, with businesses expected only to update internal compliance procedures, policies and staff training where appropriate.
For non-remote operators, the practical obligation is straightforward: once the Commission issues written notice identifying a machine as non-compliant, that machine must come off the floor. The absence of any technical modification requirement means the operational burden falls on governance and training rather than hardware, but the legal exposure for non-compliance with a formal licence condition is unambiguous.
Source: SBC News
When he is not analysing the latest compliance updates or dissecting quarterly operator results, Florian follows Bundesliga football closely and maintains a healthy skepticism toward anyone claiming to have cracked a winning betting system. He brings a grounded, insider-aware perspective to his writing and is always more interested in the structural story behind the headline than the headline itself.