Bacta Annual Convention – Rhodes’ speech dissected
UK Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes’ speech at the Bacta (British Amusement Catering Trade Association) Annual Convention on 27 November 2025 touched on all areas of the gambling industry. From funding, enforcement, and industry data, to the next phase of regulatory reform, there was a lot to digest in this short speech.
Below, we take a look at the key points, explaining what this means for land-based operators and the future of this sector of the industry.
Unprecedented funding to tackle illegal gambling
Skimming over the blow in the budget regarding gambling taxes, Rhodes instead focused on the additional £26 million that the Gambling Commission has secured over the next 3 years. It’s a great place to start, representing a 9-fold increase on the funding received previously for enforcement.
This will allow the UKGC to significantly strengthen action against illegal land-based gambling – an area previously constrained by limited resources.
Land-based gambling remains a major contributor
Despite premise numbers being down slightly, the new industry statistics on Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) show £16.8 billion for the year to March 2025, with £4.8 billion coming from land-based sectors.
This represents an increase on last year, which Rhodes believes shows that the brick-and-mortar element of the industry is still ‘dynamic and competitive’. Of course, a large percentage of premises are betting shops, but adult gaming centres (AGCs) still make up around 17%.
Zero tolerance for self-exclusion failures
Rhodes followed this good news with the decisions taken earlier this year to remove the operating licences of 7 AGCs. These companies had not been enrolled into self exclusion schemes, leading to the removal of their licences.
However, Rhodes was pleased to report that almost all of them have had their licences reinstated after successfully enrolling into self exclusion schemes, but would continue to be closely monitored. He explains that the Commission had to take decisive action to ensure that the actions of a few centres didn’t affect the media’s portrayal of the whole sector.
Early compliance through collaboration the preferred approach
While Rhodes was clear that enforcement action will always be taken where necessary, he repeatedly stressed that this is not the Commission’s preferred starting point. Instead, the focus is on achieving compliance as early as possible, to avoid issues escalating to the level where formal sanctions have to be taken.
This is where collaboration with trade bodies such as Bacta plays a central role. Rhodes highlighted workshops, sector-wide assessments, and events like the Bacta SR Exchange as examples of how working together from the beginning can raise standards more effectively than enforcement alone. It’s a brilliantly simple way to protect consumers while also supporting those operators trying to do the right thing.
Measured reform of gaming machine standards
Rhodes also provided an update on the Gambling Act Review, something that I’d wager most of the audience were hoping for. He stated there had been more than 1,000 responses to the consultation on gaming machines and technical standards. For a sector with just over 1,500 premises, that’s huge engagement.
There is wide support for consolidating the existing 12 Gaming Machine Technical Standards into a single, clearer framework. This is unquestionable, but proposals around staff alerts attracted more concern. Many respondents worried that there’d be complexity implementing this partly because of the differences between machine manufacturers. However, Rhodes reassured attendees that any changes will be phased, proportionate, and informed directly by industry feedback.
Summary
Rhodes’ message was clear in this speech – tougher enforcement is coming, but only where and when warranted. Increased funding gives the Commission sharper teeth, yet collaboration and early compliance remain the focus.
As land-based gambling continues to play a meaningful role in the UK market, it’s important that upcoming technical reforms are shaped by industry input. That way, they can be put into practice deliberately, and with practicality in mind.
Andrew Rhodes' full speech at the Bacta convention can be found here.