Cookies on the Gambling Commission website

The Gambling Commission website uses cookies to make the site work better for you. Some of these cookies are essential to how the site functions and others are optional. Optional cookies help us remember your settings, measure your use of the site and personalise how we communicate with you. Any data collected is anonymised and we do not set optional cookies unless you consent.

Set cookie preferences

You've accepted all cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

Skip to main content
3 Protection of children and other vulnerable persons

3.2.5 - Bingo and FEC SR code

Applies to:

All non-remote bingo and family entertainment centre licences.

Social responsibility code

Compliance with these is a condition of licences; therefore any breach of them by an operator may lead the Commission to review the operator’s licence with a view to suspension, revocation or the imposition of a financial penalty and would also expose the operator to the risk of prosecution.

  1. Licensees must have and put into effect policies and procedures designed to prevent underage gambling, and monitor the effectiveness of these.

  2. This must include procedures for:

    1. checking the age of apparently underage customers
    2. refusing entry to any adult-only areas to anyone unable to produce an acceptable form of identification
    3. taking action when there are unlawful attempts to enter the adult-only areas.
  3. Licensees must ensure that their policies and procedures take account of the structure and layout of their gambling premises.

  4. Licensees must not permit children or young people to gamble in the adults-only areas of premises to which they have access. If there is a ‘no under-18s’ premises policy, licensees must pay particular attention to the procedures they use at the entrance to the premises to check customers’ ages.

  5. Licensees must take all reasonable steps to ensure that all staff understand their responsibilities for preventing underage gambling. This must include appropriate training which must cover:

    1. all relevant prohibitions against inviting children or young persons to gamble on age-restricted products or to enter age-restricted areas;
    2. the legal requirements on returning stakes and not paying prizes to underage customers; and
    3. procedures for challenging any adult who may be complicit in allowing a child or young person to gamble.
  6. Licensees must only accept identification which:

    1. contains a photograph from which the individual can be identified
    2. states the individual’s date of birth
    3. is valid
    4. is legible and has no visible signs of tampering or reproduction.
  7. All licensees must conduct test purchasing or take part in collective test purchasing programmes, as a means of providing reasonable assurance that they have effective policies and procedures to prevent underage gambling, and must provide their test purchase results to the Commission, in such a form or manner as the Commission may from time to time specify.

Read additional guidance on the information requirements contained within this section.

Is this page useful?
Back to top