Gaming machines in Northern Ireland

The law on gaming machines in Northern Ireland

In Great Britain, machines are governed by the Gambling Act 2005 and regulated by the Gambling Commission. Northern Ireland is different. Its gaming machines are regulated under the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, which covers the use, supply and maintenance of gaming machines, as amended by the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. The Department for Communities’ gambling page (opens in a new tab) is the official starting point.

Responsibility is spread more widely than in Britain. The Department for Communities leads on policy and guidance; courts and district councils license and certify most gambling activities; courts decide whether offences have been committed; and the Police Service of Northern Ireland enforces the law. There is no equivalent of the Gambling Commission. The machine categories B1 to D described on our gaming machine categories page are a Great Britain system, so they don’t appear on Northern Ireland machines.

Gaming machine types, stakes and prizes in Northern Ireland

The Department’s leaflet ‘The law on gaming machines in Northern Ireland’, updated in April 2025, describes these machine types. Amusement with prizes (AWP) machines are the familiar fruit machines; jackpot machines are found in registered clubs.

All AWP stakes must be paid in cash. Outside registered clubs and bookmakers there is no statutory cap on numbers in the 1985 Order, but licensing courts can limit machines in pubs and hotels at police request, courts can set a limit when licensing a bingo club, and councils can limit machines on amusement permits where gaming is not the main activity, such as pleasure fairs.

The 2025 rise in Northern Ireland machine limits

Until January 2025, machines in pubs, hotels, bingo clubs, bookmakers and permitted arcades were held to a 30p stake and a £25 top money prize. The Gaming (Variation of Monetary Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025, made on 13 January 2025, came into operation the day after the Assembly affirmed it, in late January 2025. Its explanatory note sets out the changes.

The new pub figures now match a Great Britain Category C machine (£1 stake, £100 prize), and the bookmaker and bingo figures match a Great Britain B3 machine (£2, £500). The legal routes and the venues are different, however, and the under-18 rules work differently, so the match is in the numbers only.

Higher limits change the cost of a session. At 30p, £20 bought about 66 plays; at £2 it buys 10. If a machine returns, say, 85% on average (an illustrative figure; check the machine’s own information), £20 staked costs £3 on average either way, but the money goes much faster and the swings are larger at £2. Our bankroll guide shows how to plan for that.

Who grants machine permits in Northern Ireland

On a police application, a court can cancel a club’s registration or withdraw gaming authority from clubs, bingo clubs, bookmakers, pubs and hotels. A person under 18 can’t hold a gaming machine certificate or permit.

Age rules for gaming machines in Northern Ireland

Section 7 of the 2022 Act, in force from 1 October 2023, made it an offence to invite, cause or permit a person under 18 to play a gaming machine other than a lower limit machine; it appears in the Order as Article 124A. The Department’s leaflet doesn’t define ‘lower limit machine’, so check with the venue or council if a machine’s status isn’t clear. Two further rules apply: under-18s must not be admitted to licensed bookmaking offices (with a narrow apprentice exception), and in Article 108(1)(ca) arcades they must not be admitted to premises, or parts of premises, where £500 prize machines are operated.

Great Britain handles age differently: Categories A to C are 18+, while Category D has no statutory age limit yet, as explained on our Category D age rules page. Northern Ireland’s 2023 offence is in force, whereas Britain’s planned offence for cash-paying Category D slot-style machines is not. Adults choosing to play should treat it as entertainment with a cost; our page how old do you have to be to play slot machines? covers both jurisdictions.

Northern Ireland vs Great Britain gaming machine rules

For the Great Britain side in more depth, see UK slot machine categories and the Commission’s gaming machine categories guidance (opens in a new tab).

Other Northern Ireland machine rules worth knowing

• Bingo club machines may not be available on Christmas Day (Article 108(3)).
• Advertising gaming machines is prohibited except in arcades with a permit, at incidental attractions and at travelling showmen’s fairs (Article 130).
• Profit-sharing on machines is prohibited except at travelling fairs, arcade-type premises and pleasure piers (Article 82).
• The supplier’s name and address, and any serial number, must be shown on the front of the machine.
• Machines simulating poker and similar card games are prohibited unless used under the 1985 Order.
• In bingo clubs, only the licensee and people authorised in writing may remove money from machines.

Online slots and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has no full framework for online gambling. A second phase of reform was meant to regulate it, but the Department says further reform is a matter for an incoming Minister and Executive since the Assembly dissolved in March 2022. A consultation on an initial gambling code of practice under Article 180A of the 1985 Order opened on 1 October 2024 and has closed.

The Gambling Commission licenses online operators serving Great Britain, and its rules, such as the online slot stake limits and the UK slot game design rules, are written around that licence. Don’t assume every British protection automatically extends to you as a Northern Ireland customer; read each operator’s terms, and note that some welcome offers exclude Northern Ireland altogether.

What to check before playing a machine in Northern Ireland

1. Look at where the machine is: a pub bar area, bookmaker, bingo club, arcade or club, as each has its own limits.
2. Read the stake and prize shown; anything above £1/£100 in a pub, or above £2/£500 elsewhere, would be outside the 2025 limits.
3. Check for the supplier’s name and address on the front of the machine.
4. Remember that stakes are cash only; set a cash budget before you start.
5. Decide in advance when you will stop, and leave winnings uncommitted rather than feeding them back in.
6. If a venue lets under-18s play a higher-limit machine, that may be an offence; the PSNI enforces gambling law.

Help with gambling in Northern Ireland

Free, confidential help is available. The National Gambling Helpline, run by GamCare (opens in a new tab), is on 0808 8020 133, open 24 hours a day. Gamblers Anonymous runs peer-support meetings across England, Wales and Ulster. Some venues offer self-exclusion; our guide to self-exclusion from arcades and bingo halls explains how such schemes work, and our safer gambling page lists blocking tools and other support.

Online slot offers and Northern Ireland players

The two offers below are from Gambling Commission-licensed casinos run by LC International Limited. Coral Casino gives 100 free spins at 10p each when you deposit and bet £10 or more on slots; accept within 48 hours, valid 7 days, no wagering on winnings. Ladbrokes Casino gives 50 free spins a day for 10 days (up to 500, 10p each) after you deposit and spend £10 on slots, also with no wagering. Both are 18+ and for new customers, exclude certain payment methods and terms apply. Check each casino’s terms on eligibility in Northern Ireland before signing up; PlayOJO’s welcome offer, for example, is open to new UK customers excluding Northern Ireland. Game availability changes, so search the lobby.

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.