Premises licences
Premises licences are granted by licensing authorities, to
existing operating licence holders. Facilities for gambling can be
made available on licensed premises. Premises that can be licensed
for gambling include:
- casino premises
- bingo premises
- betting premises (including tracks)
- adult gaming centres (AGCs)
- family entertainment centres (FECs).
Is a premises licence always needed?
In addition to premises licences, there are
other forms of authorisation that licensing authorities can
grant including:
- authorisations for the temporary use of premises - a
temporary use notice allows the holder of an
operating licence to make facilities for gambling available on a
temporary basis, without the need for a full premises licence
- occasional use notices - an occasional use
notice allows betting on a track (for 8 days or less
in a calendar year) without the need for a full premises
licence.
- four different types of permit.
Statements of licensing policy
Licensing authorities are required to develop,
consult on, and publish a statement of their licensing policy. The
statement must set out the principles that they propose to apply in
exercising their functions under the Gambling Act 2005.
To help the process, the Gambling Commission
is required to issue guidance to licensing authorities on the
manner in which they are to exercise their functions, and the
principles to be applied by them in exercising them. Licensing
authorities are required to have regard to this guidance under the
Gambling Act 2005.
Our
Guidance to licensing authorities - May 2009 is
available to download.
Page last reviewed: January 2012