Do I need a licence?

There are three types of licence that business owners may need. Your business may need all three:

an operating licence (from us)
a personal management licence (from us)
a personal functional licence (from us)
a premises licence (from your local licensing authority).

If you provide facilities for remote gambling (online or through other means), and advertise to consumers in Britain, you will need a licence from the Gambling Commission.

Local licensing authorities also provide lottery registrations and gambling permits for pubs, clubs and other establishments for low-level gambling.

In this section

The types of licences available, what they allow you to do, how to apply and how to comply with your licence conditions.

Types of licence you may need for your business

Find out what each licence type allows you to do and which types you need for your business

Apply for a licence

Application process and the information you'll need to provide and the costs of applying for and maintaining your licence

How to comply with your licence conditions

The conditions that are attached to operating licences including social responsibility, anti-money laundering, technical requirements and more…

Personal management licence

People in key positions, for example finance directors, within gambling businesses must hold PMLs

Personal functional licence

Casino employees, like croupiers, need to hold PFLs

Personal licence holders at Caesars Entertainment held to account

The Commission has taken action against Personal M…

03 March 2021

Gambling Commission appoints Lived Experience Advisory Panel to advance work in player safety

The panel will continue the work of the interim Ex…

03 February 2021

Gambling Commission publishes National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms delivery update

The Gambling Commission is today publishing its la…