At the ICE 2025 World Regulatory Briefing in Barcelona last week, Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes made particular reference to the growth in GGY for AGCs and confirmed a forthcoming consultation on Games Machine Technical Standards. Was this a warning for the land based sector in the UK?
The rising revenues of the “thriving” AGC sector was a point of discussion for Andrew Rhodes, CEO of the Gambling Commission, in his speech to the ICE 2025 World Regulatory Briefing in Barcelona last week.
Rhodes noted that GGY for AGCs has been increasing significantly even as the number of machines in the sector has remained stable, attributing the growth to the efficiency and adaptability of operators.
“The latest statistics show that AGC GGY has increased at a rate that outstrips the rise in machine numbers,” Rhodes noted. “This points to a thriving sector where operators are maximising machine performance and adapting to evolving player preferences.”
Rhodes added that the landscape of consumer spending across different gambling formats is shifting, with land-based venues maintaining their importance in the broader market. In a room full of online gaming executives, he didn’t go as far as to list all the other ways in which retail gaming is leading the charge – for social responsibility, for community, and for the Great British high street – but he did make it clear that the success of AGCs is firmly on the regulator’s radar.
Whether this is entirely a good thing for the sector remains to be seen, but an upcoming Games Machine Technical Standards consultation, confirmed by Rhodes at ICE, might help answer that question. This follows a pre-consultation phase conducted in late 2024, during which industry stakeholders provided initial input on potential regulatory updates.
The Gambling Commission is considered to be on the more reactionary wing when it comes to GMTS, industry trade bodies have expressed their concerns that the regulator has still to fully grasp the existential impact that its proposed changes could have on the land-based sector, most notably the smaller operators on the high street.
But Rhodes was keen to play it safe focusing on the process rather than the detail in his speech. “We are grateful for the feedback the industry provided during last autumn’s pre-consultation phase,” Rhodes said. “That information has been invaluable, and we look forward to continued engagement to ensure technical standards reflect both innovation and regulatory requirements.”
It didn’t take long though for the next consultation to shift into gear.
On Wednesday this week the Gambling Commission published its consultation on Gaming Machine Technical Standards which will run for 16 weeks with the deadline for submissions on 20 May 2025.
The proposals include the introduction of 5 new standards, a licence condition and a social responsibility code provision; amending 3 existing standards having considered industry proposals to improve customer enjoyment and gameplay; and consolidating the existing 12 gaming machine technical standards into a single standard, whilst amending the format to be more consistent with the GC’s Remote gambling and software technical standards for greater clarity.
And probably, most worryingly, updating the gaming machine technical standards and the related testing strategy to remove obsolete material.
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