I have a criminal record - can I still apply for an operating licence?
When you apply for an operating licence, you
must tell the Gambling Commission if you have been convicted of any
offence, either in the United Kingdom (UK) or another
country. If you are not based in the UK, we will ask you
for a police report from your country for details of any
convictions. We may also speak to your country's equivalent of the
Gambling Commission.
We are allowed to ask questions about your
entire criminal record under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
1974 (exceptions) Order 1975. This also means we can ask for
details of cautions, reprimands and spent convictions.
We will be concerned if you do not disclose
any of the information requested as part of your application.
We want to be satisfied that the proceeds of
crime have not been used to provide facilities for gambling, and we
will look closely at who ultimately benefits from the gambling
activities you want to run.
If the source of funding is not obvious from
your business plan we may ask you to provide further
information.
We follow the Criminal Records Bureau Code of
Practice, which means we are not allowed to discriminate unfairly
on the basis of a conviction or other information you reveal.
We look at each application separately, so having a conviction does
not mean we will automatically refuse your application.