Plans to liberalise rules governing high street slot machine shops have been shelved, amid concern about the sector’s treatment of vulnerable customers.
Ministers were widely expected to allow adult gaming centres (AGCs), many of which allow customers to play slots 24 hours a day, to install more higher-stakes machines.
But, in a rare setback for the fast-growing AGC sector, which declared itself “frustrated” by the decision, relaxation of the rules will not go ahead this year and could be dropped altogether.
Under a regulation known as the “80/20 rule”, no more than 20% of the terminals in arcades and bingo premises can be category B3, a class of slot machine that allows stakes of up to £2, promising prizes of up to £500.
