Gaming machines in Great Britain: categories, stakes and age rules
Fruit machines in pubs, fixed-odds betting terminals in betting shops, slot machines in casinos, and coin pushers and crane grabs at the seaside are all “gaming machines” under the Gambling Act 2005. Each one falls into a category that sets its maximum stake and prize, where it can be put, and who can play it. This guide explains those rules for machines in physical venues in Great Britain. Online slots have separate rules: see online slots stake limits.
In short
- Land-based gaming machines are put into categories A to D by maximum stake and prize. No category A machines are currently permitted.
- The highest limits are on B1 machines in casinos: £5 a play and a £10,000 prize. Betting shop terminals (B2) are limited to £2 a play.
- You must be 18 or over to play any gaming machine except category D.
- Category D machines (such as penny falls, crane grabs and low-stake fruit machines) have no legal age limit.
- Machines in categories B1 to D, except crane grabs and penny falls, must display their return to player (RTP), and there is no minimum RTP.
What counts as a gaming machine
The Gambling Act 2005 defines a gaming machine as a machine designed or adapted for people to use to gamble, whether or not it can be used for other purposes too. The Gambling Commission says most are reel-based, also called fruit, slot or jackpot machines. Some things are not gaming machines, according to the Commission:
- ordinary home computers and phones (online gambling is regulated separately);
- machines for betting on future real events, and lottery terminals;
- bingo machines in bingo premises, and bingo prize-gaming machines where the right permit is held;
- semi-automated and wholly automated casino games;
- “skill with prizes” machines, where the result depends on skill rather than chance.
The categories, stakes and prizes
| Category | Maximum stake | Maximum prize | Where you will find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Unlimited | Unlimited | None currently permitted |
| B1 | £5 | £10,000 (or a £20,000 progressive jackpot linked across machines on the same premises) | Casinos only |
| B2 | £2 | £500 | Casinos, betting shops, tracks with pool betting |
| B3 | £2 | £500 | Casinos, betting shops, tracks with pool betting, bingo premises, adult gaming centres |
| B3A | £2 | £500 | Members’ clubs and miners’ welfare institutes only (one machine) |
| B4 | £2 | £400 | As B3, plus members’, miners’ welfare and commercial clubs |
| C | £1 | £100 | As B4, plus pubs and licensed family entertainment centres |
| D | 10p to £1, depending on type (see below) | £5 to £50, depending on type | All of the above, plus unlicensed family entertainment centres with a permit and travelling fairs |
The Commission’s guidance to licensing authorities (opens in a new tab) says the current stake limits have applied since April 2019 and the prize limits since January 2014. A single machine can offer games from more than one category. For example, a B2 machine can also offer B3 and C games.
Fixed-odds betting terminals (B2)
The Commission says B2 machines are also known as fixed-odds betting terminals, or FOBTs. They can be put only in casinos, betting shops and tracks with pool betting. Their maximum stake is £2 a play, and the maximum prize is £500.
B3A machines
B3A machines are found only in members’ clubs and miners’ welfare institutes. The Commission says they play only “lottery style games”. They may look as though they involve some kind of gamble or interaction, but the result is decided in advance by the virtual lottery ticket the machine picks when the game starts.
Category D: penny falls, crane grabs and arcade machines
The Commission says category D machines are generally low-stake fruit machine-style machines, coin pushers (also called penny falls) and crane grabs. There are five combinations of stake and prize:
| Type | Maximum stake | Maximum prize |
|---|---|---|
| Money prize | 10p | £5 |
| Non-money prize (not a crane grab) | 30p | £8 |
| Non-money prize, crane grab | £1 | £50 |
| Combined money and non-money prize (not a coin pusher or penny falls) | 10p | £8, of which no more than £5 can be money |
| Combined money and non-money prize, coin pusher or penny falls | 20p | £20, of which no more than £10 can be money |
Category D machines can legally sit in many kinds of venue, but the Commission says they are unusual anywhere other than adult gaming centres, family entertainment centres, pubs and travelling fairs.
Who can play: the age rules
- Categories A, B and C are for adults only. Under section 46 of the Gambling Act, it is an offence to invite, cause or permit anyone under 18 to gamble. Using a category D machine is one of the listed exceptions, so the other categories are covered by the offence.
- Category D has no legal age limit. The government says these machines can be played by children and young people.
- Family entertainment centres. Licensed family entertainment centres can offer category C machines as well as category D, but the C machines must be in a separate area that is supervised to keep under-18s out. Unlicensed family entertainment centres, which need a permit from the local council, can offer only category D machines.
- “Cash-out” slot-style D machines. Low-stake category D slot machines that pay out cash can currently be played by children. The government says Bacta, the arcade trade association, introduced a voluntary agreement in 2021 for its members to stop under-18s using them. It has consulted on making this a legal age limit: the consultation (opens in a new tab) ran from 15 October 2025 to 30 January 2026, alongside proposals to change category D stakes and prizes. When we checked on 12 November 2026, the government page said it was still analysing the feedback, and the Commission’s guide to machine categories still listed the limits above.
The Commission’s Young People and Gambling 2026 (opens in a new tab) statistics found that 19% of 11 to 17 year olds had spent their own money on arcade machines such as penny pushers or claw grabbers in the previous 12 months, the most common of the activities it asked about. For what parents can do, see children and gambling.
Return to player on machines
Machines in categories B1 to D, except crane grabs and penny falls, must display a return to player figure, according to the Commission’s guide to gaming machine categories (opens in a new tab). For most categories this is the “theoretical target percentage return to player”. B3A machines show the actual percentage for each lottery class. The Commission says:
- there is no minimum RTP: the manufacturer decides it, but the minimum average return must be shown to the player for that game;
- RTP is an average over a large number of games, and will vary over a typical session;
- for categories B1, B2, B3 and B3A, the figure must be verified by the manufacturer or an accredited test house. These machines must be tested by an independent test house against the Commission’s technical standards.
RTP works the same way as it does online. The Commission’s own example: if a machine shows an 85% RTP, you should not expect to win back an average of 85p for every £1 you stake in a session. See how casino games are regulated for more on RTP and house edge.
Machines in betting shops, bingo halls and casinos
The Commission’s code of practice on gaming machines in gambling premises (opens in a new tab) (code 9) sets three rules for licensed betting shops and bingo halls, and for casinos other than those holding the newer casino licences created by the Gambling Act 2005:
- machines may be offered only where the premises also has substantive facilities for its main activity: betting in a betting shop, bingo in a bingo hall, and casino games or games of equal chance in a casino;
- gambling facilities must be offered in a way that allows staff to supervise them at all times;
- the way the premises works and looks, inside and out, must let a customer reasonably recognise it as a betting shop, bingo hall or casino.
Casino changes from 22 July 2025
Two pieces of legislation changed the rules for casinos on 22 July 2025: the Casinos (Gaming Machines and Mandatory Conditions) Regulations 2025 (opens in a new tab) and the Gambling Act 2005 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2025 (opens in a new tab).
Small casinos licensed under the Gambling Act 2005 can now offer five gaming machines for every gaming table in use, up from two. The overall maximum is still 80 machines. In England and Wales, the minimum size of a small casino’s table gaming area fell from 500m² to 250m².
Converted casinos are casinos that were already operating when the Gambling Act 2005 came into force. In England and Wales, a converted casino can now offer up to 80 machines of category B, C or D, if:
- its gambling area is at least 280m²;
- it has no more than five machines for each gaming table in use or available for play;
- its gambling area is big enough for the number of machines. The order sets a sliding scale from 25 machines for 280m² up to 80 machines for 500m² or more, with five more machines for each extra 20m²;
- converted casinos at the same location or next door to each other stay within 80 machines in total, unless customers can move between them only by passing through an area that no gambling licence or permit holder controls.
A converted casino using these extra machines must have a table gaming area and a separate non-gambling area, each at least half the size of the gambling area or 250m², whichever is smaller. Only table gaming is allowed in the table gaming area. The non-gambling area must have recreational facilities for customers whenever gambling is offered. Lobbies and toilets can count towards it, but it cannot be made up only of them.
For converted casinos using the extra machines, and other converted casinos with a gambling area of 200m² or more, the gambling area must be under 1,500m². A casino that was already 1,500m² or larger on 12 May 2025 can stay that size, but not grow.
Converted casinos in England and Wales can now also offer betting. They must display a notice setting out the terms for betting in each part of the premises where betting is offered. The number of betting machine positions depends on the size of the gambling area, from 16 positions where it is under 280m² up to 40 where it is 500m² or more.
Both instruments require the government to review the changes and publish a report within five years. The Commission says the affected parts of its guidance to licensing authorities (opens in a new tab) will be reviewed and amended in due course.
For bingo halls, the government has consulted on going further by requiring a minimum “bingo area”: see bingo and prize gaming rules.
Pubs and clubs
- Pubs and other alcohol-licensed premises are automatically entitled to two category C or D machines once they notify the local licensing authority. The council can issue a permit for more; a permit replaces the automatic two rather than adding to them.
- Members’ clubs and miners’ welfare institutes (for example working men’s clubs and Royal British Legion branches) can have up to three machines from categories B3A, B4, C or D with a club machine permit, of which only one can be B3A.
- Commercial clubs can have up to three machines from categories B4, C or D, but not B3A.
Category C machines in pubs are for over-18s only, like any category C machine.
Land-based machines and online slots are different
- Different rules. The categories and limits on this page apply to physical machines in venues. Online slots are covered by the Commission’s remote technical standards and by the online slots stake limits.
- Different stake limits. The legal stake limit for online slots is £5 a spin, or £2 for players aged 18 to 24. The government said it set the £5 figure to match the B1 limit in casinos, the most comparable land-based setting.
- Different age rules. The Commission says the minimum age for online gambling is 18. Only category D land-based machines can be played by under-18s.
Taking a break from machines
GAMSTOP covers online gambling only. To stop using machines in betting shops, adult gaming centres, bingo halls or casinos, use the land-based self-exclusion schemes: see self-exclusion from betting shops, casinos, bingo and arcades. Free support is available from the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 (England and Scotland) and the NHS All-Wales Gambling Helpline on 0808 2819 265.
The rules here apply in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own law on gaming machines: see gambling law in Northern Ireland.