FOBT £2 stake rules

The FOBT £2 stake in one paragraph

A fixed-odds betting terminal, or FOBT, is the everyday nickname for a Category B2 gaming machine. Since 1 April 2019 no B2 machine in Great Britain may accept more than £2 on a single game. The cut, from £100, was one of the largest single changes ever made to a gaming machine category, and it remains in force at 21 October 2026. The £500 maximum prize didn't change, and B2 play remains restricted to adults aged 18 and over.

The Gambling Commission's B2 gaming machines page (opens in a new tab) sets out the current limits, and the regulations themselves are published on legislation.gov.uk. This page explains what the rule says, why it was introduced, what it means in pounds and what it leaves untouched. For the wider picture of machines in bookmakers, see our guide to betting shop machines.

What a Category B2 machine (FOBT) actually is

B2 terminals look like touchscreen cabinets offering a menu of games: electronic roulette, other casino-style games and slot-style content. Their defining feature in law isn't the game type but the category limits: today £2 stake and £500 prize. The 'fixed odds' label comes from the fact that each game pays at set odds, rather than a pool of stakes being shared between players.

The 2018 regulations that cut the stake also changed the definition of Category B3 so that only B3 machines, not B2s, can be used in adult gaming centres and bingo premises. Outcomes are decided by a random number generator, and B2 machines must be tested by an independent, Commission-approved test house before they're supplied.

What the £2 FOBT stake rule says and where it comes from

The legal text is the Gaming Machine (Miscellaneous Amendments and Revocation) Regulations 2018 (opens in a new tab), SI 2018/1402. They were made on 20 December 2018 and state that they come into force on 1 April 2019. Regulation 2(3) amends the Categories of Gaming Machine Regulations 2007 so that the B2 maximum charge for use becomes £2.

• The stake cut: B2 maximum stake reduced from £100 to £2.
• A B3 tidy-up: the definition of Category B3 is amended so that only B3, not B2, Category B machines can be used in adult gaming centres and bingo premises.
• Redundant conditions removed: regulation 11A of the Gaming Machine (Circumstances of Use) Regulations 2007 is removed, and the Gaming Machine (Circumstances of Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 are revoked. These had dealt with higher-stake B2 play, which no longer existed once the cap fell to £2.

The policy decision came first. The government confirmed the £2 figure in its response to a consultation on gaming machines and social responsibility measures, published in May 2018; the consultation and response are on GOV.UK (opens in a new tab). The regulations then gave the industry until April 2019 to change machines.

How betting shops switched FOBTs to a £2 stake

Machines weren't replaced; they were reprogrammed. The Commission's March 2019 bulletin for licensing authorities, on the impact of the B2 stake change (opens in a new tab), explains that the change was delivered by software updates, some of them introduced in March 2019 so they could be tested before the deadline.

1. Government announces the £2 decision in May 2018.
2. Regulations (SI 2018/1402) are made on 20 December 2018, fixing 1 April 2019 as the start date.
3. Machine makers prepare software updates capping each game at £2 and submit them for testing.
4. Some updates go live in March 2019 for testing in betting shops.
5. From 1 April 2019, no B2 machine in Great Britain may accept a stake above £2.

From the player's side, the visible change was the stake selector: options above £2 disappeared. Games, menus and the £500 prize cap stayed broadly the same.

Why the FOBT stake was cut to £2

The £100 stake allowed very large sums to be staked in a short time on a machine sited on the high street. The government's 2018 decision treated that combination as a source of harm, and the £2 figure aligned B2 with the stake already allowed on Category B3 and B4 machines. In plain terms, B2 was brought into line with other high-street gaming machines.

A useful way to see the scale is to look at what a single game could cost before and after, at the same £500 prize ceiling.

What the FOBT £2 stake means in pounds

The stake cap limits how much you can put on one game, not how much you can lose overall. A worked example shows both sides. Take an electronic roulette game on a B2 terminal. Single-zero roulette carries a house edge of about 2.7% (one zero among 37 numbers), so the long-run average cost is roughly 2.7p per £1 staked. Slot-style B2 content has its own return, shown on the machine; check the label rather than assuming.

The average cost per pound is unchanged by the cap. What changes is speed and swing: losing £100 now takes many more games, which gives more time for a pause, a reality check or a decision to stop. Individual sessions can still finish well above or below the average; see slot volatility and our bankroll guide for how variance works in practice.

Where FOBTs can be sited and who can play them

• Betting shops: up to four machines from Categories B2 to D (excluding B3A) per licensed betting premises. Our gaming machine entitlements page shows how this compares with other venues.
• Casinos: B2 machines may be part of a casino's machine allocation alongside B1, B3, B4, C and D.
• Tracks with pool betting: allowed to host B2 machines within the betting premises rules.
• Not allowed: adult gaming centres, bingo premises, pubs, clubs and family entertainment centres can't host B2.

Every B2 player must be 18 or over, and staff are expected to challenge anyone who looks underage. Betting shop operators also run self-exclusion schemes; see self-exclusion from arcades and bingo halls for how land-based schemes generally work.

What the £2 FOBT rule doesn't cover

• Online roulette and other online casino games. The £2 rule is a land-based machine rule. Online, the Commission's stake limits apply to slots only (£5 per game cycle for players aged 25 and over, £2 for 18 to 24-year-olds); its online slots stake limit guidance (opens in a new tab) says other casino games such as roulette and blackjack aren't covered.
• Category B3 and B4, which already had £2 stakes and were unaffected.
• Prize limits, which stayed at £500 for B2.
• Payment methods. Debit cards still can't be used directly to play gaming machines; a planned change announced in May 2024 isn't in force. See debit cards on gaming machines.
• Tax. Players pay no tax on winnings; operators pay Machine Games Duty on takings, at 20% for machines costing 21p to £5 to play.

FOBT myths and the facts behind them

That last point matters on any machine. See do slot machines remember past spins and the gambler's fallacy on slots.

What's next for B2 machines after the £2 stake

The stake and prize limits for B2 aren't changing: the government's written statement of 16 May 2024 said existing stake and prize limits would stay as they are. The changes ahead concern design and safer gambling features. The Commission's finalised gaming machine technical standards, published on 30 September 2026, bring in an interim 'session' standard from 30 March 2027 and the final standards from 30 June 2027. Trade reports say new Category B machines will need player limit-setting and a display of elapsed time and net position, with existing machines exempt; we describe those details only as reported.

FOBT £2 stake timeline

For earlier chapters in the story of British machines, see our slot machine timeline.

Online stakes compared with the FOBT £2 stake, and our offers

Online slots at UK-licensed casinos carry their own limits: £5 per spin if you're 25 or over and £2 if you're 18 to 24, with at least 2.5 seconds between spins and no autoplay. These rules apply to the brands below, which are online casinos with nothing to do with betting shop terminals. Which slots each one carries changes, so search the lobby.

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18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Decide a budget before you play: plan a slot budget. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.