The Gambling Commission has launched a new consultation aimed at making gambling in Britain safer and fairer.

This is the Commission’s third consultation to implement proposals from the 2023 Gambling Act Review White Paper High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age.

The consultation, which will run for 16 weeks (from 29 January 2025 to 20 May 2025), is focussed on the gaming machine technical standards and the related testing strategy. It includes proposals to:

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• introduce five new standards, a licence condition and a social responsibility code provision designed to support and empower consumers to use gaming machines safely at every stage of the customer journey – this includes proposals on time and monetary limit setting functionality and information provision such as safer gambling messaging and the display of net position and session time

• amend three existing standards having considered industry proposals to improve customer enjoyment and gameplay

• consolidate the existing 12 gaming machine technical standards into a single standard, whilst amending the format to be more consistent with our Remote gambling and software technical standards for greater clarity

• update the gaming machine technical standards and the related testing strategy to remove obsolete material.

Tim Miller, Gambling Commission Executive Director for research and policy, said: “The White Paper sets out that a top priority is ensuring that gambling happens safely. We share this commitment and today’s consultation proposes how we could implement gaming machine changes in the land-based sector.

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“We recognise that regulatory changes that impact the design of machines can come with considerable costs. We are encouraging consumers, gambling businesses and other interested groups to share evidence that will assist us in measuring both the likely regulatory impacts of the proposed changes and the likely costs of implementing them. This evidence will be invaluable to helping make a robust assessment on whether the benefits to consumers are proportionate to the costs involved.”

On Tuesday, 28 January 2025, the newly appointed Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for the Economy, Enterprise, and Strategic Projects, Mr Godwin Mifsud, paid an official visit to the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA/Authority) offices at SmartCity. He was greeted by MGA CEO Charles Mizzi, alongside members of the MGA Executive Committee and staff.

During his visit, Mr Mifsud was given a tour of the Authority’s offices and had the opportunity to engage directly with team members from various departments. These interactions provided him with a deeper understanding of their responsibilities, the core functions of each department and the challenges they face in their day-to-day work.

The MGA CEO outlined the Authority’s strategic direction to Mr Mifsud and shared details of key projects currently underway, as well as those planned for the future.

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As part of The Unit’s company restructure, its highly successful in-house marketing division will be launched as an agency serving iGaming and sports betting industries

The Unit, a leader in product design and development for sports betting and iGaming, has invested €500,000 to launch marketing agency tentenseven. This exciting transformation of The Unit’s in-house marketing division marks the latest step in its growth strategy and expansion roadmap.

Following an expansion in The Unit’s marketing offering, the marketing team will now operate as tentenseven, which will stand as its own entity. On top of paid search and marketing planning, tentenseven will offer SEO, PPC, social media, brand strategy, editorial content, influencer marketing services and social media production among its many areas of expertise.

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Feargal Byrne, Director of Strategic Marketing at The Unit, will head up the new phase of growth at tentenseven as Director of iGaming, Ecommerce and Fintech.

In January, The Unit announced a refresh of its visual brand identity, including a new company logo and redesigned website, which reflected the company’s recent growth and ambitious expansion plans. These expansion plans were signified by the recent opening of The Unit’s North American hub in New York City. As part of the brand refresh, the company is focusing on product design and development, with the marketing side of the business now operating as a standalone agency.

Paddy Casey, Co-founder at The Unit, said: “After kicking off 2025 with our brand refresh, we are redefining our structure as a business. With additional funding in place, we think now is the right time for tentenseven to stand in its own right as a marketing leader in the industry. With this investment, tentenseven has the means to grow and maximise its potential in the coming years. We expect to see tentenseven expand in the short and long-term, just as we expect with The Unit.

“In his time with The Unit, Feargal has demonstrated his ability to help clients develop their marketing strategies, establishing channel-level approaches across PPC, social and SEO. Feargal is perfectly positioned to run tentenseven and steward the company into this new and exciting era.”

Feargal Byrne added: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead tentenseven as Director of iGaming, Ecommerce and Fintech.

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“This is an exciting period for The Unit as a company, and with this significant investment, tentenseven will have the capability to expand and make further headway in the market. That’s great news not just for us, but also for our clients. I can’t wait to get started on this project with the team and I look forward to putting our plans for tentenseven into action as quickly as possible.”