Gaming machine categories UK

What the gaming machine categories in the UK are for

The Gambling Act 2005 and the regulations made under it don't treat all slot machines alike. A machine that can take £5 a spin and pay £10,000 carries very different risks from a 10p arcade machine paying £5, so the law sorts machines into categories by maximum stake and maximum prize. The category then decides where a machine may be sited, who may play it, how many a venue can have and what information it has to display.

The Gambling Commission keeps the definitive table on its gaming machine categories page (opens in a new tab). Our figures below come from that page and the regulations behind it, checked against the position at 21 October 2026. For a plain overview of the machines themselves, see our UK slot machine categories guide; this page focuses on the rules.

These categories apply in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Northern Ireland has its own law; see gaming machines in Northern Ireland.

UK gaming machine categories: stakes, prizes and venues

Read the columns together. The stake is the most you can commit to a single game, and the prize is the most a single game can pay. A venue's licence or permit then controls how many of each category it may offer, which we cover on our gaming machine entitlements page.

Category B machines: casinos, bookmakers, bingo and arcades

Category B is the high end of what the law allows today, split into five sub-categories.

• B1 machines are casino-only. The Commission's B1 gaming machines page (opens in a new tab) confirms the £5 stake and £10,000 top prize, which make them the closest land-based relative of a modern video slot. Linked progressive jackpots can reach £20,000, but only across machines on the same premises; see our casino slot machines guide.
• B2 machines are the terminals in betting shops often called fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs). Their maximum stake was cut from £100 to £2 on 1 April 2019 by the Gaming Machine (Miscellaneous Amendments and Revocation) Regulations 2018 (opens in a new tab). Our FOBT £2 stake page covers the change in detail.
• B3 machines are slot-style games with a £2 stake and £500 prize, found in adult gaming centres, bingo halls, betting shops and casinos.
• B3A machines offer lottery-style games only and may be sited only in members' clubs and miners' welfare institutes, one per club.
• B4 machines take £2 and pay up to £400. They're the usual top machine in a members' club and appear widely elsewhere.

All Category B play is restricted to adults aged 18 and over. Category B1, B2, B3 and B3A machines must also be tested by an independent test house approved by the Commission; the Commission reviews the test reports rather than repeating the tests itself.

Category C: the pub fruit machine category

Category C is the classic fruit machine you'll find in a pub: £1 maximum stake, £100 maximum prize, 18+ only. Pubs and other alcohol-licensed premises have an automatic entitlement to two Category C or D machines, and can apply for more under a licensed premises gaming machine permit. Category C machines also appear in clubs, licensed family entertainment centres (in an adults-only area), bingo halls, adult gaming centres, betting shops and casinos.

Because the prize cap is £100, a Category C machine's features, such as nudges, holds and cash ladders, all work within that ceiling. Our page on the maximum prize on a pub fruit machine explains how jackpot displays relate to the cap.

Category D subtypes: arcade, pusher and crane machines

Category D is the lowest category and the most varied. It covers low-stake cash machines, prize machines, coin pushers and crane grabs, each with its own limits.

There is no statutory minimum age for Category D at present. The industry has applied a voluntary 18+ policy on cash-paying, slot-style Category D machines since 2021, and in May 2024 the government said it would make it an offence to let under-18s play them; at 21 October 2026 that offence is announced but not in force. Our Category D age rules page sets out the detail. These machines are gambling for adults to choose knowingly, not entertainment for children; see crane grab machines and pusher machines.

Category A: the category with no machines

Category A has no stake or prize limit. The 2005 Act would allow such machines only in a regional casino, and no regional casino exists, so the Commission says no Category A machines are currently permitted in Great Britain. You'll see Category A in the law and in technical standards, but you won't find one on a gaming floor.

What each category must show the player

Categories also decide what a machine tells you before you play. Machines in Categories B1 to B4 and C must display a theoretical target percentage return to player. B3A machines show the actual return for each lottery class. Category D machines must show one too, except crane grabs and penny falls. No minimum return is set by law, so the figure on the label is information, not a guarantee of a level.

The Commission's draft technical standards from 2025 also describe notices such as 'THIS GAME IS RANDOM' or a statement that a game is compensated, and rules and pay tables available before you commit. Our guide on reading a machine label shows where to look.

1. Find the category sticker or screen notice; it usually sits on the cabinet front or in the game menu.
2. Note the stated maximum stake and prize, and compare them with the category table on this page.
3. Look for the return to player percentage and whether the game says it is random or compensated.
4. Open the pay table on screen before inserting money, so you know what each combination pays.
5. Check the venue's age rules: if the machine is Category A to C, it is 18+ only.

What play costs on each category: worked examples

Stake limits cap a single game, not a session. The figures below are illustrative: they assume a machine displaying an 85% target return, which is a hypothetical figure chosen to show the arithmetic, not a typical or legal value. Your real machine's label gives its own figure.

Two points follow. First, a lower stake cap mainly limits how fast money can go, not whether you lose it over time. Second, any single session can land well above or below the average; the house edge shows up reliably only over very long periods. Setting a session budget before you start, and stopping when it's gone, is the practical way to use these numbers.

Categories and Machine Games Duty

Categories are a licensing tool; tax uses different bands. Machine Games Duty is paid by the business (rates are on GOV.UK's Machine Games Duty page (opens in a new tab)) on net takings, not by players, at 5% where the cost to play is 20p or less and the top prize £10 or less, 20% where the cost to play is 21p to £5, and 25% above £5. So most Category D money-prize machines fall in the lower band, while pub machines and Category B fall in the standard band. Winnings from gaming machines aren't taxed for players.

What the UK gaming machine categories don't cover

• Online slots. Internet slots aren't in any category. They follow the online stake limit of £5 per spin for players aged 25 and over (since 9 April 2025) and £2 for those aged 18 to 24 (since 21 May 2025), with no statutory prize cap. See online slot stake limits.
• Skill with prizes machines, such as quiz machines, which aren't gaming machines if they involve no element of chance.
• Payment methods. Debit cards still can't be used directly to play gaming machines; the government decided in May 2024 to lift that ban once protections are in place, but at 21 October 2026 it hasn't happened. See debit cards on gaming machines.
• Speed of play and on-screen safer gambling tools, which are set by the Commission's technical standards rather than the category table.

Timeline of changes to UK gaming machine categories

The headline: since the B2 cut in April 2019, no category's stake or prize limit has changed, and the government's May 2024 statement confirmed they would stay as they are.

Online slots and the machine categories: where offers fit

If you play online rather than in a venue, none of the categories above applies, and neither do category prize caps. What applies instead is the online stake limit, the 2.5-second minimum spin time and the other online rules. The offers shown on this page are for online casinos only and have nothing to do with land-based machines. Game availability changes, so search each lobby for the slots you want.

At Coral Casino, new players aged 18+ who deposit and bet at least £10 on slots between 1 October 2026 and 1 February 2027 receive 100 free spins valued at 10p each on selected games, to be accepted within 48 hours and used within 7 days, with no wagering on winnings. At Ladbrokes Casino, new customers aged 18+ who deposit and spend £10 on slots receive 50 free spins a day for the first 10 days (up to 500), each worth 10p, claimable until 23:59 daily and valid for 7 days, with no wagering. Certain deposit methods, such as PayPal and prepaid cards, are excluded. One company runs both brands, so check whether you can open new accounts at both. 18+, terms apply.

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.