Gambling Act 2005 - Premises Licences

A Premises Licence, issued under the Gambling Act 2005, is required for any premises where an individual or company proposes to offer premises based gambling and are issued in respect of specific premises.

The types of Licence available are as follows:

Casino Premises Licence
Betting Premises Licence – including Tracks
Bingo Premises Licence
Adult Gaming Centre Premises Licence
Family Entertainment Centre Premises Licence

Applications for Operating & Personal Licences should be made to the Gambling Commission.

An application for a Premises Licence may only be made by persons (which includes companies or partnerships):

who have the right to occupy the premises; and
who have an Operating Licence which allows him/her to carry out the proposed activity, or have applied for an Operating Licence (the Premises Licence may only be issued once the Operating Licence has been issued).

An applicant for a Premises Licence must be over the age of 18.

A person can make an application to the licensing authority for a Provisional Statement in respect of premises that s/he expects to be constructed, expects to be altered or expects to acquire a right to occupy. Unlike a Premises Licence application, a person can apply for a Provisional Statement without having an Operating Licence from the Gambling Commission or a right to occupy the premises.

How to apply – New Applications, Applications to vary and Applications for Provisional Statements

download the relevant Premises Licence Application Form
send the application to the Licensing Authority together with the plan of the premises, local risk assessment and appropriate fee
send the notice of application to all Responsible Bodies within a period of 7 days beginning on the date on which the application is made
publish a prescribed notice of application in a local newspaper within 10 working days of making your application
publish a prescribed notice of application on the premises to which the application relates, where it can be read by the public from the exterior of the premises for a period of 28 consecutive days, starting on the day on which the application is made to the licensing authority.

An existing gambling premises licence can be transferred to another person or company who holds an appropriate operating licence from the Gambling Commission.

A responsible authority or interested party may make representation to a gambling premises application. This will require a written statement outlining opinion and actions believed to be appropriate.

Interested parties are defined in the Gambling Act 2005 as follows:

lives sufficiently close to the premises to be likely to be affected by the authorised activities,
has business interests that might be affected by the authorised activities, or
represents persons who satisfy the above

The principles used by the Licensing Authority to determine whether a person is an interested party are set out in the Statement of Principles.
Representations must be made within 28 days beginning on the date on which the application was made to the Licensing Authority.